Pamela Hallock

Pamela Hallock Muller is a scientist and Professor at the University of South Florida in the College of Marine Science. Her research has focused on reef-associated Foraminifera and algal symbiosis, extending into coral-reef ecology, paleobiology and carbonate sedimentology. She has worked as a diversity and inclusion advocate that has promoted gender equality within academia and marine science for many decades.
Early years and education.
Pamela Hallock began life on a small ranch on the Rosebud Reservation in south-central South Dakota. She attended elementary school in a one-room schoolhouse, and started high school in Mission. Her family moved to Missoula, Montana, in 1963, where she completed high school. She received her Bachelor’s degree in zoology from the University of Montana, Missoula in 1969, marrying a fellow zoology major, Robert Muller, in summer 1969. She received her Master’s and Ph.D. degrees in oceanography from the University of Hawaii in 1972 and 1977.
Early career.
Muller started as an assistant professor at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin in Odessa, TX, in 1978. She then moved to the University of South Florida as an associate professor in 1983 where she became a full professor in 1988.
Research.
Hallock Muller’s uses field studies to understand the role of nutrients, light and ocean chemistry in coral reefs, carbonate sedimentology and paleoceanography. She has studied algal symbiosis in the context of carbonate production, community structure and evolution of coral reefs. A key aspect of her research is the study of reef-associated Foraminifera, including distributions, population dynamics and functional morphologies, with applications in studies of environmental quality, paleoenvironments, carbonate sedimentation, and global environmental change. She participated in a 10-day saturation mission in the NOAA-National Undersea Research Center’s Aquarius Habitat in 1994. She participated in the International Ocean Discovery Program’s Leg 194 in 2001.
Hallock Muller has mentored women and underrepresented minorities, and has been active in gender-equity issues in academia. She has received the Association for Women Geoscientists Outstanding Educator Award in 1999, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Minority Ph.D. Program’s Mentor of the Year in 2012, one of the Top 25 women professors in Florida in 2013, and USF graduate-mentor awards in 2014, 2016 and 2018.