by Magda Garbowski
One did not have to know Adriana long to grasp her impact on the fields of fungal and microbial ecology. Her research was unbounded; it spanned genes to ecosystems and deserts to forests. With her work she clarified not only the mechanisms shaping ecological patterns but also the social systems shaping individuals’ experiences in science, academics, and higher education.
Although her impact on these scientific disciplines is apparent, her influence on other scientists, both well-established individuals and those just beginning their scientific journeys, is equally impressive. Her mentors and peers remember her as thoughtful, hardworking, and deeply caring while students in her research group and classes remember her as welcoming, inclusive, and supportive. Rarely does someone have such an impact on science and scientists in such a short time as Adriana.
As a scientist, I’ve struggled to make sense of Adriana’s departure from this physical realm into the next. In trying to make sense of her passing, I revisited the passage by journalist Aaron Freeman about the physics of a loved ones’ energy. He suggests that an individual’s energy is never truly lost when they pass but just transformed. I agree with this sentiment but also consider Adriana transformed energy slightly differently – I believe that Adriana’s energy and spirit will forever flow through the ecological networks of the ecosystems she studied while also continuing to transform the individuals she inspired for decades to come.