Prof. Jan Amend is an Associate Professor at the University of 
Washington in St. Louis.  He received his PhD in Geochemistry
at UC Berkeley in 1995.  Professor Amend's research group combines
geochemistry, microbiology, and molecular biology to study the chemical
connections between microorganisms and their natural environment. The
approach combines experimental, theoretical, analytical, and field
components. Most of Professor Amend's research efforts are aimed at the
microbial geochemistry of hydrothermal systems. Since microbes thriving
at very high temperatures (hyperthermophiles) were first isolated
several decades ago, they have captured the interests of
microbiologists, molecular biologists, and biochemists. Because the
metabolisms of these novel organisms are intimately tied to the
chemistry of their natural environments, geochemists have started to
investigate the roles of thermophiles in marine and continental surface
and subsurface environments. Professor Amend?s field areas include the
hydrothermal systems of the Aeolian Islands, north of Sicily, Italy and
those at Yellowstone National Park in the western United States, two of
the most prolific sites of hyperthermophilic activity.