Dr. Estella Atekwana grew up in Cameroon, where as a little girl a teacher once told her that
geology was not for girls. She took that as a challenge. Today, Estella is an internationally-
recognized research powerhouse and a pioneer of geobiology with well over a hundred
publications in geology, geophysics, and environmental microbiology journals; thousands of
citations; some $10M in research grants; and a CV that would quickly run your printer out of ink.
She has given numerous keynote lectures at national and international conferences and
departmental seminars across the globe.
Estella is best known for being one of the founders of the field of biogeophysics, which uses the
tools of geophysics to investigate interactions of microbes and geological materials, particularly
in subsurface environments.
In a classic story illustrating the importance of cross-disciplinary conversations to the field of
geobiology, she credits the origins of biogeophysics to a serendipitous experience in the field. In
the early 1990’s, Estella was a member of a team investigating the geophysical signatures of
hydrocarbon-contaminated environments, part of an effort to clean up contaminated Air Force
base sites. Scientists at the time expected to find an electrically resistive signature typical of
economic hydrocarbon reservoirs (i.e., reflective bright spots in ground penetrating radar).
Instead, studies kept finding signal attenuation. During one investigation at the decommissioned
Wurtsmith Air Force Base in Michigan, Estella’s group found that the contaminated ground was
electrically conductive. Scratching their heads, they struck up a conversation with EPA
geomicrobiologists working at the site, and sat down together to pour over the data both groups
were getting. What they ultimately deduced was that hydrocarbon-degrading microbes were
producing CO 2 and organic acids that were leaching ions from surrounding subsurface materials
into groundwater, thereby increasing the electrical conductivity of the hydrocarbon-contaminated
ground. Estella realized then that geophysical tools could be used to investigate subsurface
microbial communities, and biogeophysics was born.
Since then, she and her students have worked on geobiology topics as diverse as biofilm
growth and development, bacterial nanowires, subsurface microbially-mediated iron redox
cycles and mineralization, geobatteries, microbial processes in porous media, and oil spill
bioremediation. She also continues to be active in more traditional geophysics, with several
recent publications on the Malawi and Okavango Rift Zones. One application of biogeophysics
that she is particularly excited about is its use to search for subsurface life in deep ocean basins
and on other planets.
As an educator, Estella has mentored several dozen graduate students and postdocs, and
some 70+ undergraduates, many of whom have since received PhDs from top-tier graduate
programs. Her CV includes a long list of papers with student first authors, as well as the many
“best poster” and “best paper” awards her students have received. She has been recognized for
her teaching, mentoring, and extensive efforts in geoscience diversity and international
capacity-building with awards from Missouri S&T, Oklahoma State, the Society of Exploration
Geophysicists, and the Association of Women Geoscientists.
Estella emphasizes the power of cross-disciplinary conversations and collaborations in her
advice to young scientists. She also admonishes all of us, as scientists, to be intellectually
fearless when confronted with new problems. “Determine what skill sets you have that you can
bring to the table and work with other people to solve the problems… While we are all experts in
our particular areas, do not be afraid to venture out.”
Estella and her husband, geochemist Dr. Eliot Atekwana, have three children and a lot of stories
and advice about navigating academia as a dual-career couple.