Rate My Professor Lisa Pratt

Pratt’s research interests encompass geomicrobiology of sulfate-reducing microorganisms, biotic and abiotic fractionation of sulfur isotopes in modern and ancient oceans and lakes, the influence of wildfire on carbon isotopic excursions during the Cretaceous, and the fate of complex organic molecules on Mars. Her biogeochemical investigations of microbial transformations in extreme environments, funded for two decades by NASA and the National Science Foundation, included co-directing field campaigns on the Greenland ice sheet from 2011 to 2016 and leading the NASA project Shallow-Borehole Array for Measuring Greenland Emission of Trace Gases as an Analogue for Methane on Mars. She has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed journal papers, with over 12,000 citations, and mentored 12 postdoctoral fellows, 20 PhD students, and 14 MS students, fostering hands-on field and laboratory training. Notable awards include Fellow of the Geological Society of America (2010), Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholar (2009-2011), Indiana University College of Arts and Sciences Distinguished Faculty Member (2003), American Association of Petroleum Geologists Eastern Section Outstanding Educator (2002), Association of Women Geoscientists Outstanding Educator (1997), AAPG Distinguished Lecturer (1990-1991), AAPG Matson Award (1986), and Indiana University President’s Medal for Excellence (2018). Pratt has also held editorial and committee roles, including multiple NASA proposal review chairs and membership on the NASA Planetary Science Subcommittee.