Ann Pearson

Ann Pearson is the Murray and Martha Ross Professor of Environmental Sciences at Harvard University and current chair of the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences.[1] Her research in the area of organic geochemistry is focused on applications of analytical chemistry, isotope geochemistry, and molecular biology to biochemical oceanography and Earth history.

Ann Pearson
Born1971 (age 51–52)
Seattle, WA
NationalityAmerican
TitleMurray and Martha Ross Professor of Environmental Sciences
Academic background
Alma materMIT/WHOI, Oberlin College
Thesis (2000)
Academic work
DisciplineBiogeochemistry
InstitutionsHarvard University

Education

After growing up on the San Juan Islands,[2] Pearson completed her undergraduate degree in chemistry from Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio in 1992. She was a Peace Corps volunteer in Ecuador from 1993 to 1994.[3] She earned her Ph.D. in Chemical Oceanography from the MIT/WHOI Joint Program in Oceanography with a dissertation titled "Biogeochemical applications of compound-specific radiocarbon analysis"[4] for which she received MIT's Rossby Award.[5]

Career and research

Pearson has been on the Harvard faculty since 2001. She was the first woman in the Earth and Planetary Sciences Department to be awarded tenure.[6][7]

Pearson's recent work has focused on the global carbon and nitrogen cycles, paleo-temperatures, and paleo-CO2 records. In 2010, Pearson described her research as "...the 'you are what you eat' philosophy for microbes" which allows her to use microorganisms to assess modern and ancient ecosystems.[2] Notable research topics include investigations into chemoautotrophic processes using compound specific 14C-based methods,[8][9] genomic evidence of sterol biosynthesis retained by Planctomycetota,[10] and examinations of modern environments to reveal insights into environmental conditions in the past.[11][12] In 2018, Pearson's research showed that increases in the size of eukaryotic phytoplankton increased the amount of carbon sequestered from the atmosphere.[13][14]

Awards and honors

References
  1. "Ann Pearson". eps.harvard.edu. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
  2. Powell, Alvin (2010-02-18). "Surrendering their secrets". Harvard Gazette. Retrieved 2021-05-08.
  3. Smith, Colleen (2009-05-05). "Local graduate now Harvard professor". Islands' Sounder. Retrieved 2021-05-08.
  4. Pearson, Ann (2000). "Biogeochemical applications of compound-specific radiocarbon analysis". dspace.mit.edu. hdl:1721.1/7582. Retrieved 2021-05-08.
  5. "The Carl-Gustaf Rossby Award". paocweb.mit.edu. Retrieved 2021-05-08.
  6. Lewin, Tamar (2010-03-05). "After Harvard Controversy, Conditions Change but Reputation Lingers". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-05-10.
  7. Lewin, Tamar (2010-03-13). "Women Making Gains on Faculty at Harvard". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-05-29.
  8. Pearson, A.; McNichol, A.P.; Benitez-Nelson, B.C.; Hayes, J.M.; Eglinton, T.I. (2001-09-15). "Origins of lipid biomarkers in Santa Monica Basin surface sediment: a case study using compound-specific Δ14C analysis". Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. 65 (18): 3123–3137. doi:10.1016/S0016-7037(01)00657-3. ISSN 0016-7037.
  9. Ingalls, Anitra E.; Shah, Sunita R.; Hansman, Roberta L.; Aluwihare, Lihini I.; Santos, Guaciara M.; Druffel, Ellen R. M.; Pearson, Ann (2006-04-25). "Quantifying archaeal community autotrophy in the mesopelagic ocean using natural radiocarbon". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 103 (17): 6442–6447. doi:10.1073/pnas.0510157103. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 1564200. PMID 16614070.
  10. Pearson, Ann; Budin, Meytal; Brocks, Jochen J. (2003-12-23). "Phylogenetic and biochemical evidence for sterol synthesis in the bacterium Gemmata obscuriglobus". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 100 (26): 15352–15357. Bibcode:2003PNAS..10015352P. doi:10.1073/pnas.2536559100. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 307571. PMID 14660793.
  11. Mikucki, J. A.; Pearson, A.; Johnston, D. T.; Turchyn, A. V.; Farquhar, J.; Schrag, D. P.; Anbar, A. D.; Priscu, J. C.; Lee, P. A. (2009-04-17). "A Contemporary Microbially Maintained Subglacial Ferrous "Ocean"". Science. 324 (5925): 397–400. Bibcode:2009Sci...324..397M. doi:10.1126/science.1167350. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 19372431. S2CID 44802632.
  12. Liu, Z.; Pagani, M.; Zinniker, D.; DeConto, R.; Huber, M.; Brinkhuis, H.; Shah, S. R.; Leckie, R. M.; Pearson, A. (2009-02-27). "Global Cooling During the Eocene-Oligocene Climate Transition". Science. 323 (5918): 1187–1190. Bibcode:2009Sci...323.1187L. doi:10.1126/science.1166368. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 19251622. S2CID 46623205.
  13. Shen, Jiaheng; Pearson, Ann; Henkes, Gregory A.; Zhang, Yi Ge; Chen, Kefan; Li, Dandan; Wankel, Scott D.; Finney, Stanley C.; Shen, Yanan (June 11, 2018). "Improved efficiency of the biological pump as a trigger for the Late Ordovician glaciation". Nature Geoscience. 11 (7): 510–514. Bibcode:2018NatGe..11..510S. doi:10.1038/s41561-018-0141-5. ISSN 1752-0908. S2CID 133854468.
  14. "Algae ate themselves to death and caused a global extinction". www.earthmagazine.org. Retrieved 2021-05-08.
  15. "Pearson, Ann". The David and Lucile Packard Foundation. Retrieved 2021-05-08.
  16. "Ann Pearson". Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University. Retrieved 2021-05-08.
  17. "Moore Foundation funds 16 top scientists for high-risk marine microbial ecology research". EurekAlert!. Retrieved 2021-05-29.
  18. "Investigator Detail". www.moore.org. Retrieved 2021-05-29.
  19. "Paul W. Gast Lecture | Geochemical Society". www.geochemsoc.org. Retrieved 2021-05-29.
  20. "Awards to be presented at Goldschmidt 2015" (PDF). Society News. June 2015.
  21. Bristol, University of. "Benjamin Meaker Visiting Professor Ann Pearson, Harvard University, USA". www.bristol.ac.uk. Retrieved 2021-05-29.
  22. Bell, Robin; Holmes, Mary (2019). "2019 Class of AGU Fellows Announced". Eos. 100. doi:10.1029/2019eo131029. Retrieved 2020-06-19.
  23. "Ann Pearson Named 2019 John Hayes Award Recipient". June 6, 2019. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
  24. "John M. Hayes Award".
  25. "King, Pearson, and Zhang Receive 2019 Joanne Simpson Medals for Mid-Career Scientists". Eos. Retrieved 2021-05-08.

Ann Pearson publications indexed by Google Scholar

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