Dr. Estella A. Atekwana, University of Delaware
Estella A. Atekwana received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Howard University,Washington DC, and a PhD from Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. She is currently the Dean of the College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment at the University of Delaware. Before joining the University of Delaware in 2017, she was Regents Professor, Head, and Sun Chair Professor of the Boone Pickens School of Geology at Oklahoma State University. She was previously a Professor at Missouri University of Science and Technology, Indiana University–Purdue University, and Western Michigan University. She was a visiting Professor at the University of Botswana in 1999.
Her research uses geophysical methodologies to investigate geologic processes spanning the near to deep subsurface and from the micron to lithospheric scale. She is internationally recognized for her pioneering and interdisciplinary work on biogeophysics which has won numerous best paper awards at international conferences. Her biogeophysics research focuses on investigating the interaction between microorganisms and subsurface geologic media and the application of this knowledge to bioremediation optimization, oil exploration, and as a proxy for biogeochemical processes. Her tectonophysics studies have included integrated geophysical imaging of lithospheric and upper mantle structures to understand the geodynamic processes of continental rift initiation and how preexisting Precambrian structures modulate strain localization leading to faulting and generation of earthquakes. Atekwana has conducted international field-based research in several countries including Botswana, Canada, Cameroon, Egypt,Malawi, Tanzania, Turkey, Uganda, and Zambia with her students.
Atekwana has been the lead principal investigator of many research projects funded by federal agencies and private companies. She has received several awards including the 2020 Society of Exploration Geophysicists Near Surface Geophysics Global Virtual Lecturer, 2019 Association for Women Geoscientists Outstanding Educator, and the 2016 Society of Exploration Geophysicists Outstanding Educator award. She was inducted an Honorary Member of Phi Beta Delta, the Honor Society for International Scholars, and International Golden Key Honor Society. She has been convener of several workshops and special sessions and an invited speaker at international conferences and research institutions.
Atekwana is a member of several professional organizations including the Society of Exploration Geophysicists, American Geophysical Union, Geological Society of America, Geochemical Society,European Association of Geoscientists and Engineers, and National Association of Black Geoscientists. She has held leadership positions on several of these organizations. She is a member of the U.S.National Committee for the International Union of Geological Sciences, National Academies of Sciences and member of the Board on Earth Sciences (BESR) and Resources and Water Science and Technology, National Academies of Sciences. She is the Chair of the Africa Awards for Research Excellence in Earth and Ocean Sciences Committee, American Geophysical Union.
Atekwana enjoys working with and mentoring students and early career scientists. She has been advisor of more than 100 undergraduate and graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. She is a champion for diversity in the geosciences and capacity building in developing countries. She loves to travel and her top destinations are the Egyptian Pyramids and the many archaeological sites in Egypt, Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe/Zambia and many African Safaris. She also loves to read and prefers legal thrillers.