Ferran Garcia-Pichel

Ferran Garcia-Pichel, students and collaborators study the roles, adaptations, and impacts of microbes in natural environments ranging from desert soils to shallow marine waters. The microbes they study play roles o fecological importance, including the formation and destruction of minerals, the prevention of soil erosion, or the biogeochemical cycling of elements

His current foci on microbial adaptations involve studying mechanisms carbonate dissolution, the production of sunscreen compounds, and the microbial ability to produce hydrogen from water. Current applied aspects of their research nclude developing strategies for the sustainable recovery of degraded arid lands and searching for novel microbial capacities and products that have potential use in biomedicine and technology.

Professor Garcia-Pichel is also interested in improving undergraduate and graduate education. He teaches advanced  microbiology, microbial ecology and geomicrobiology courses. He joined the faculty of Arizona State University in 1999.