Current Research

Thomas L. Kieft
Biology Department Chairman
Professor of Biology
New Mexico Tech
801 Leroy Pl., Socorro, NM 87801
Phone: (575) 835-5321
FAX: (575) 835-5668
E-mail: tkieft@nmt.edu
I'm an environmental microbiologist with interests in the ecology and biogeochemistry of microbes in extreme or unusual environments. 

I have studied the microbiology of deep groundwater environments for 20+ years.  Sampling has involved deep drilling and also access to the subsurface biosphere via deep mines. 

I'm currently working on NSF-funded projects investigating the deep biosphere in South African gold mines (http://deepbio.princeton.edu/samp/sindex.htm) and planning for geomicrobiological research at the Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory (DUSEL) in the Black Hills of South Dakota  (http://www.dusel.org/).   


Specific Research Interests



 

 



General Research Interests





NMT Biology Undergrad taking water sample in a South Africa mine
• Microbiology of subsurface terrestrial environments
• Soil microbiology
• Physiology and ecology of water-stressed microbes
• Groundwater microbiology
• Microbiology of extreme environments
•  
• Microbial ecology
• Environmental microbiology
• Biogeochemistry
• Bioremediation
• General microbiology
• Molecular ecology
Published by the Biology Department, Jones Annex, NM Tech, 801 Leroy Place, Socorro, NM, 87801 (575) 835-5612
NMT Biology Undergrad in a South African mine 2011
Undergraduate student working deep within a South African mine.