Andrew Schuerger received his BS (1979) and
MS (1981) degrees from the University of Arizona
and his Ph.D. (1991) from the University of
Florida studying microbiology and plant pathology.
Dr. Schuerger worked for 16 years at The Land
(a hydroponic research and education facility)
at Epcot Center, FL developing disease management
programs for diseases of vegetable and agronomic
crops. His research interests have closely
paralleled NASA’s Advanced Life Support
(ALS) and Astrobiology programs. In 1997 Dr.
Schuerger joined the Dynamac Corporation to
pursue research on the remote sensing of plant
stress using spectral reflectance and fluorescence
imaging technologies. In 2000, he received
two NASA research (NRA) grants to study (i)
the survival, growth, and replication of microorganisms
under simulated Martian conditions, and (ii)
the growth of plants in low pressure environments
for developing concepts in Mars bioregenerative
life support systems. During the summer field
seasons of 1999 through 2001, Dr. Schuerger
participated on explorations of the Haughton
Impact Crater on Devon Island in the high Canadian
Arctic. In 2000 and 2001, he led a research
program studying the dispersal of human-associated
microorganisms. The later study was conducted
as a simulation of what might be expected on
Mars for the dispersal of microbial contaminants
around a human basecamp. |
