Henry Sun

Assistant Research Professor

Division of Earth and Ecosystem Sciences

Henry.Sun@dri.edu

Education

Appointments

Research Interests

Life in extreme environments; endolithic (inside rock) microorganisms in the Antarctic dry valleys, the Atacama Desert, and Death Valley; mineral formations in microbial environments; biological rock weathering, iron isotopic fractionation, and survival and adaptation in endolithic communities; new approaches to planetary life detection; microbiology of compost tea making and its use as an alternative to fungicide in agriculture and viticulture.

Current Projects

• D-amino acids in endolithic communities
• Life in the Atacama Desert
• Mars life detection
• Endolithic microbial communities in Death Valley
• Compost tea as alternative to fungicides

Teaching

• Astrobiology at University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Spring Semester, 2005;
• Spaceward Bound, astrobiology for teachers (Atacama 2006; Mojave 2007, 2008, 2009).

Current Students

• Dr. Gaosen Zhang, postdoc
• Faegheh Moazeni, Ph.D. student

Awards and Honors

• Group Achievement Award, NASA Headquarters, 2007;
• Antarctic Service Medal, National Science Foundation and US Navy. 1996;
• Best Student Paper, American Society for Plant Physiology, Orlando, FL. 1996.

Selected Publications

Sun H, V Saccomanno, B Hedlund, CP McKay. Terrestrial life recognizes D-glucose, not L-glucose: preliminary evidence and implications for Martian life detection. Astrobiology in review.

Bahcheli DM, H Sun, R Leon, S Hess, J Nadeau. 2008. Fluorescence microscopy as a tool for in situ life detection. Astrobiology 8:859-874.

Dong H, JA Rech, H Jiang, H Sun, BJ Buck. 2007. Endolithic cyanobacteria in soil gypsum: occurrences in Atacama (Chile), Mojave (USA), and Al-Jafr Basin (Jordan) Deserts. J Geophys Res – Biogeosci, 112, G02030,doi:02010.01029/02006JG000385.

Georgiou CD, I Papapostolou, H Sun, CP McKay. 2007. Superoxide radical assays and applications in Mars-like Atacama soils. J Geophys Res – Biogeosci, 113, G04S13, doi10.1029/2006JG000390.

Scott JH, DM Obrien, D Emerson, H Sun, GD McDonald, A Salgado, ML Fogel, 2006. An examination of the carbon isotope effects associated with amino acid biosynthesis. Astrobiology, 6(6):867-880.

Friedmann EI, H Sun, 2005. Communities adjust their temperature optima by shifting producer-to-consumer ratio, shown in lichens as models: I. hypothesis. Microb Ecol 49:523-527.

Sun H, EI Friedmann. 2005. Communities adjust their temperature optima by shifting producer-to-consumer ratio, shown in lichens as models: II. verification. Microb Ecol 49:528-535.

Sun H, PT DePriest, A Gargas, AY Rossmann, EI Friedmann, 2004. Pestalotiopsis maculans is a dominant parasymbiontic fungus in North American lichens. Symbiosis 33:215-226.

Yang, H., and H.J. Sun. 2004: Crystal structure of a new phosphate compound, Mg2KNa(PO4)2•14H2O. Journal of Solid State Chemistry 177:2991-2997.

Beard, B., C. Johnson, J.L. Skulan, K.H. Nealson, L. Cox, and H. Sun. 2001: Application of Fe isotopes to tracing the geochemical and biological cycling of Fe.  Chem Geol 195(1-4):87-117.

Ching, W.K., A.J. Colussi, H. Sun, K.H. Nealson, and M.R. Hoffmann. 2001: E. coli disinfection by electrohydraulic dischanges. Environ Sci Technol 35:4139-4144.

Beard, B., C. Johnson, L. Cox, H. Sun, K. Nealson, and C. Carmen. 1999: Iron isotope biosignature. Science 285:1889-1892.

Sun H, E Friedmann. 1999. Growth on geological time scales in the Antarctic cryptoendolithic microbial community. Geomicrobiol J 16:193-202.

Book Chapters

Sun, H, CP McKay, J Nienow. Antarctic Cryptoendolithic Microbial Ecosystem. In: Astrobiological Analogues: Life in Antarctic Deserts and other Cold Dry Environments. P Doran, B Lyons, D McKnight (eds). Cambridge University Press, Astrobiology Series. In press