Stephanie Schwabe | |
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| Born | (1957-01-01)January 1, 1957 (age 68) Germany |
| Alma mater | University of Queensland College of Charleston Mississippi State University University of Bristol |
| Occupation(s) | geomicrobiologist, diver, underwear researcher |
Stephanie Jutta Schwabe (born 1 January 1957 inGermany) is ageomicrobiologist. She completed aPh.D. in thebiogeochemical investigation of caves within theBahamiancarbonate platforms. She is an expertgeologicdiver mostly in Bahamian blues holes, though her experience extends to expeditions in U.S. waters.Diver International named her one of the top cave 40 divers in the world in 1997.
Schwabe earned a degree in law at theUniversity of Queensland with a focus oninternational environmental law in 2003.[1] She also earned a graduate degrees at theCollege of Charleston in South Carolina andMississippi State University, and adoctorate from theUniversity of Bristol in England.[2]
Schwabe works as a professor at theDepartment of Earth and Environmental Sciences and as a scientist at theUniversity of Kentucky.[2][3]
Schwabe is a fellow of theRoyal Geographical Society of London. She was named aNASA fellow inexobiology for her discovery of a unique life system found only in the black fresh water holes in the Bahamas, and was featured in the book titledWomen of Discovery: A Celebration of Intrepid Women Who Explored the World.[4][5]
In 2004, Schwabe was given theWomen of Discovery Award for Courage by Wings WorldQuest.[4]
Schwabe began diving in caves either in the mid-1980s[2] or in 1992.[1] Since that time, she has participated in eighteen scientific expeditions to the Bahamas, as subjects for masters and doctoral research. She has participated in a number of film expeditions. In 2000, Schwabe's discovery quest led her to the Black Hole ofAndros, Bahamas.[2]
Schwabe discovered a species ofpurple sulfur bacteria she namedAllocromatium palmerii in 2003 after her late husband and diver Rob Palmer.[6][7]
Schwabe is the founder and director of the Rob Palmer Blues Holes Foundation, a nonprofit organization.[8][3] The foundation is dedicated to the scientific and physical exploration of blue holes within the Bahamas and related environment. The foundation's goals are to encourage education and conservation of Bahamian caves and blue holes.[9]
Schwabe also describes theThird Man phenomenon that occurred to her while lost as she wassolo diving in a cave.[10]
Her husband, British diving pioneer Rob Palmer, died on a pleasure dive in the Red Sea in 1997.[2]
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