Kathleen Campbell (geologist)
Kathleen Ann Campbell ("stonehistorian" on social media) is a New Zealand geology and astrobiology academic. She is currently a full professor at the University of Auckland. Her work is broadly centred in the topic of paleoecology and how ancient organisms interacted with their environment and whether they were capable of surviving under extremely hard conditions. Much of her research carries wide-ranged associations with questions about the origin of life and the possibility of life on Mars. She graduated from the University of Southern California and she is currently a full professor at the University of Auckland . Academic career. During Kathleen’s high school years she studied many fields including: English, French, Humanities, Biology, Chemistry and Math. Her true passion, and coincidentally her academic career, did not manifest until she attended the University of California, where she earned a Bachelor of Science and her deep rooted love for scientific discovery began to form. She continued on her education to eventually earn a Master’s degree from the University of Washington, as well as a PhD in Geology at the University of Southern California. Shortly after a geology PhD at University of Southern California in the USA titled , " 'Dynamic Development Of Jurassic-Pliocene Cold-Seeps, Convergent Margin Of Western North America' " Campbell moved to the University of Auckland in New Zealand, eventually rising to full professor. In 1997, Campbell was appointed from a post-doctoral position in the Exobiology Branch at the NASA Ames Research Center into teaching and researching in the areas of paleoenvironment and paleoecology as a member of the Geology Department of the University of Auckland. Kathleen’s field of research focuses specifically on determining the link between life and its environment, particularly on the microscopic level and potentially on other planets. Becoming the head  of the astrobiology research group in earth sciences, she has been able to delve deeper into her investigation through experimentation involving the activities of mineral and geothermal resources through observing gas hydrates and hydrocarbon seeps. She has also carried out experiments involving geo fluids and their effects on the planet’s life forms and crust which have contributed to the focal point of her research and to an improved understanding of the discovery of life on Mars. Within her research, she puts a specific emphasis on a subcategory within her main focus: life in extreme environments. In order to explore  this she utilizes trace fossils for indicators of ancient shorelines and sea level changes, sedimentology, and paragenesis. In 2016 Campbell was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand. In 2017, Campbell was selected as one of the Royal Society Te Apārangi's "150 women in 150 words", celebrating the contributions of women to knowledge in New Zealand. Much of Campbell's most-cited research involves cold seeps.