Highlighting Women in Geobiology at MIT: Dr. Sabine Mehay
Current Role: I currently work as a Geochemist and Petroleum System Analyst for the oil and gas service company Schlumberger. I am based in Aachen, Germany.
Years in the Summons Lab: I was part of the Summons Lab from January 2010 until February 2011.
Favorite Memories: I have many good memories from my time at the Summons Lab. My favorite one is probably the field trip in the Canadian Arctic during the Summer 2010. I am grateful to have been given the opportunity to be part of team of scientists who spent one month up there, away from civilization. As my background is in chemistry, my field experience was limited at the time, and I learned a lot from the geologists and paleontologists on the team including identifying paleosols which I collected for analysis in the lab.
Research Foci in the Summons Lab: During my time at the Summons Lab, I worked mainly on two projects. The first one was on the paleoclimate of the Canadian Arctic across the Paleocene-Eocene transition using paleosol and shale samples collected from Ellesmere and Banks Islands. The second one was the study of microbialites (stromatolites and thrombolites), ooids and the symbiotic relationships between the various microorganisms communities responsible for these specific mat structures using the distributions of intact polar lipids, fatty acids and bacteriohopanepolyols.
Advice to Women Pursuing STEM: My advice for young women and girls interested in pursuing STEM is to believe in themselves, be curious and enthusiastic. A STEM career is not in contradiction with a well-balanced life, on the contrary the latter is more and more encouraged in the industry as well as in the academia.
Featured Publications:
Sabine Mehay, M. Hashem, L. Rouis, E. Mollianiyazov, B. Bennett, A. Stankiewicz (in prep.) Understanding lateral and vertical fluid variations in the Pliocene sand reservoirs in the Eastern South Caspian Basin. AAPG Bulletin.
Sabine Mehay, M. Marin, T. Cassola, J.C. Chao, D.L. Hall (2019) Reconstruction of the thermal history across the Ringvassøy-Loppa Fault Complex, SW Barents Sea. Abstracts of European Geosciences Union (EGU) General Assembly, 7‐12 Apr 2019, Vienna, Austria; Geophysical Research Abstracts Vol. 21, EGU2019-15698.
