Lisa Pratt is Professor Emerita and former Provost Professor in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at Indiana University Bloomington, a key figure in Geoscience research there since joining the faculty in 1987. She earned her PhD in Geology from Princeton University in 1982, MS in Geology from the University of North Carolina in 1978, MS in Botany from the University of Illinois in 1974, and BA in Botany from the University of North Carolina in 1972. Following a National Research Council Post-Doctoral Fellowship at the U.S. Geological Survey from 1982 to 1984, Pratt advanced at IU to Provost Professor and served as Associate Executive Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. She directed a NASA Astrobiology Institute team on biosustainable energy and nutrient cycles in the deep subsurface of Earth and Mars from 2003 to 2008, chaired NASA’s Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group from 2013 to 2016, and contributed to the Return Sample Science Board for the Mars 2020 Rover mission. From 2018 to 2021, she served as NASA’s Planetary Protection Officer, overseeing protocols to prevent biological contamination during space exploration.

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.

Professional Email: prattl@indiana.edu