Tullis Onstott Explained

Tullis Onstott
Birth Name:	Tullis Cullen Onstott
Birth Date:	12 January 1955
Birth Place:	Carlsbad, New Mexico, U.S.^[1]
Death Place:	Oracle, Arizona, U.S.
Nationality:	American
Field:	Geology
Work Institutions:	Princeton University
Alma Mater:	California Institute of Technology Princeton University
Thesis Title:	Paleomagnetism of the Guayana Shield, Venezuela and its implications concerning Proterozoic tectonics of South America and Africa
Thesis Url:	https://search.proquest.com/docview/303126269/
Thesis Year:	1981
Doctoral Advisor:	Robert B. Hargraves
Academic Advisors:	Derek York
Website:	https://onstott.princeton.edu/about

Tullis Onstott (January 12, 1955 – October 19, 2021) was a professor of geosciences at Princeton University who has done research into endolithic life deep under the Earth's surface. In 2011 he co-discovered Halicephalobus mephisto, a nematode worm living 0.9– under the ground,^[2] the deepest multicellular organism known to science. He won a LExEN Award for his work "A Window Into the Extreme Environment of Deep Subsurface Microbial Communities: Witwatersrand Deep Microbiology Project".^[3] In 2007, Onstott was listed among Time Magazine's 100 most influential people in the world.^[4]

Life and education

Onstott attended the California Institute of Technology and was awarded a B.S. in Geophysics in 1976. He later moved to Princeton University to earn a M.A. in 1978 and later a Ph.D. in 1980, both in Geology, under the direction of Robert B. Hargraves.^[5] After receiving his doctoral degree, Onstott, spent the next three years as a postdoctoral fellow in Derek York's laboratory at the University of Toronto performing research involving 40Ar/39Ar geochronology, before returning to Princeton as a professor.^[6] Onstott died October 19, 2021, after a long illness.^[7]

Research

Research projects include:^[8]

• South African Deep Microbiology: characterizing the microbiology and geochemistry of continental crust down to 5km (03miles).^[9]
• Indiana-Princeton-Tennessee Astrobiology Institute: preparing for the search for life beneath the surface of Mars.
• Natural Earthquake Laboratory in South African Mines: installed a field laboratory at 3.8km (02.4miles) depth, exploring the relationship between seismic activity and microbial diversity and activity.
• Anaerobic biostimulation for the in situ precipitation and long-term sequestration of metal sulphides.

The first two research projects were done in collaboration with stable isotope biogeochemist and colleague Lisa Pratt of Indiana University.^[10]

External links

• Tullis Onstott - The Time 100
• Onstott's Princeton home page

Notes and References

1. News: Tullis Onstott, innovative geologist, explorer of subsurface life, and revered 'gentle soul,' dies at 66 . Denise . Valenti . October 22, 2021 . Princeton University.
2. Nematoda from the terrestrial deep subsurface of South Africa . J. . Borgonie . García-Moyano . A. . Litthauer . D. . Bert . W. . Bester . A. . van Heerden . E. . Möller . C. . Erasmus . M. . Onstott . T. C. . . 79–82 . 10.1038/nature09974 . 7349 . 2011 . 474 . 21637257. 2011Natur.474...79B . 1854/LU-1269676 . 4399763 . free .
3. Limits Of Life On Earth: Are They The Key To Life On Other Planets? . . October 15, 1997.
4. Web site: National Aeronautics and Space Administration . NAI's Tullis Onstott makes Time 100 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100731194838/https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/articles/nais-tullis-onstott-makes-time-100/ . 2010-07-31 . 2007-05-03 . Shige . dead . Abe.
5. Paleomagnetism of the Guayana Shield, Venezuela and its implications concerning Proterozoic tectonics of South America and Africa . 1981 . . Ph.D. . Onstott . Tullis Cullen . . 46407032.
6. Web site: Curriculum vitae . Tullis . Onstott . Princeton University . September 14, 2018 . August 2, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180802101025/https://www.princeton.edu/geosciences/people/data/t/tullis/CV.pdf . dead .
7. News: Geosciences professor Tullis Onstott GS '80 dies at 66 . Sandeep . Mangat . October 28, 2021 . The Daily Princetonian.
8. Web site: Tullis . Onstott . Princeton University Home Page . 2010-12-01 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100915155550/http://www.princeton.edu/geosciences/people/onstott/ . 2010-09-15 . dead .
9. News: Discover Interview: Tullis Onstott Went 2 Miles Down & Found Microbes That Live on Radiation: Bacteria found in gold mines and frozen caves show the extreme flexibility of life, and hint at where else we might find it in the solar system. . . June 26, 2012 . Valerie . Ross.
10. News: These bacteria use radiated water as food . October 19, 2006 . Indiana University.