Acknowledgments

Presentation of this work is a joint effort with my wife, Virginia Vanneman, without her encouragement and artistic expertise this would not have been possible. My thanks to WUWF and Gallery 88 for giving me the opportunity to stretch out from my scientific cocoon. I would also like to acknowledge Reddoch Graphics for assistance with graphic design.

I must also acknowledge my fellow scientists, colleagues, friends, and students for making these trips possible and the continuing support of the University of West Florida for encouraging my research interests. In particular I would like to thank Dr. George (Doc) Simmons of Virginia Tech for getting me started with that first trip to Antarctica.  The other trips to Antarctica were supported by grants from the Office of Polar Programs of the National Science Foundation.  Thanks to my long-time collaborator Dr. Fabien Joux of the Laboratoire d'Océanographie Microbienne, Banyuls sur Mer, France for including me on the “Malina” project in the Arctic. The recent trips to the Atacama Desert would not have occurred without the generous collaborations of Dr. Alfonso Davila of SETI, Dr. Cheryl Kelley of the University of Missouri, Dr. Klaudia Hernandez of the Universidad Austral and Dr. Cristina Dorador of the Universidad de Antofagasta, Chile. I thank the Clough Family Foundation for additional support for travel to Chile and the production of this exhibition.