David Valentine

Biography

David Valentine holds the Norris Presidential Endowed Chair in Earth Science, is the founding director of the Marine Science program in the College of Creative Studies, and is a Professor of Geochemistry and Microbiology. He holds a BS in Biochemistry/Chemistry and an MS in Chemistry from UC San Diego, and an MS and PhD in Earth System Science from UC Irvine. He held an NSF postdoctoral fellowship in microbial biology at Scripps Institution of Oceanography and has been a professor at UC Santa Barbara since 2001.

Research

Professor Valentine's research interests focus on the interaction of microbes and chemicals - how the smallest living beings impact Earth’s environment and how the environment structures the ecology and evolution of the microbes. His projects include study of Archaea, methane's biogeochemistry, hydrocarbon seeps and spills, accelerated microbial evolution, microbial symbiosis, ocean exploration, the application of microbial technology to address societal problems, and the development of stable-isotope-based tools. Dr. Valentine is also actively engaged in the communication of science beyond his peer group, through media and other stakeholders.