Marine Biological Hall Of Distinction: Dr. Leanne Armand
- The Persaud Catalog
- Feb 25
- 5 min read
This article is a part of our collection known as the Marine Hall Of Distinction. In this special collection, we will discuss marine biologists who we feel have served marine biology & oceanography the most. We do this in order to commemorate these marine biologists & to show gratitude for everything they have contributed to our oceans. Today’s marine biologist is Leanne Armand, a marine biologist & paleontologist from Australia.
Dr. Leanne Armand was a professor, marine scientist, researcher, & paleontologist hailing from Australia. She is well known for her research in diatoms, sea ice estimation, & Antarctic research.
In today’s article, we are going to delve into her formative years & education, her personal life & career, & her achievements honorables awards & accomplishments. With that being said, let us delve into the life & work of Leanne Armand.
Her Formative Years & Education
Armand was born on February 20th, 1968, in Adelaide, Australia. She has one younger brother, Andrew, who is a nurse in a local hospital, whom she has 3 nieces & nephews from. As a child, she spent quite a lot of time on the coast, particularly in the Gleneg & Marion suburbs of Australia. She would often collect shells & observe local marine life. Once collected, she would bring these shells home & set up small exhibits with them, that she referred to as “Museums”. She would give “tours”, to her family members, explaining what each shell belonged to & why it was important.
In high school, she changed her focus on her subjects to include more science, & for her efforts, won the John Green Memorial Prize from her high school at the end of her 11th-grade year.
As a high schooler in 12th grade, she represented Australia in a rotary exchange program, & spent time as an exchange student in Arkansas, USA. She stayed for approximately 6 weeks, meeting Bill Clinton during her stay, the then-governor of Arkansas.
After leaving high school, she went to Flinders University to earn her Bachelor’s degree in Biology. Going into university, her goal was to become a biology teacher, however, her passion for paleontology & ocean sciences led her elsewhere.
Her involvement in paleontology began on an expedition to the Naancoorte caves of South Australia, under the guidance of Rod Wells & Peter Murray. Soon after, she participated in a longer expedition at the Alcoota fossil beds, again with Peter Murray. These expeditions started a lifelong love & enjoyment of fieldwork, especially fieldwork involving fossils.
After 6 months at Flinder’s University, she decided to withdraw due to the distance between the University & the Alcoota fossil beds. After leaving, she immediately got involved in a conference for Australian vertebrate paleontologists, & assisted in organizing the event.
After finishing the conference, she started her studies back up at the Australian National University, & worked alongside Dr. David Ride as a part-time fossil preparer. While working on her honors bachelor’s degree, she studied multiple fossil formations including those in the Alps & in the Teapot Creek Fossil Formation.
She stayed for her PhD, & did a collaborative program between the Geology Department of Australian National University, & Bordeaux University in France. Armand successfully completed her PhD in micropaleontology in 1998, under the guidance of Australian Scientist Dr. Patrick DeDeckker, & French Scientist Dr. Jean-Jacques Pichon. During her PhD, she met her now husband, Stéphane, at Australian National University, whom she now shares 2 children with. Her thesis was on the topic of algae, & how it can be used to measure the surface temperature of sea ice in the south pole.
Her Personal Life & Career
During the last year of her PhD, Armand & her husband moved to France. After finishing her PhD, she applied to numerous postdoctoral fellowships, & was offered one in Hobart, Tasmania. After much thought, she, her husband, & her new three-month-old son named Gaston, moved back to Australia.
During her Postdoctoral, she worked on research estimating sea ice formations over the last 190,000 years, & worked with scientists in Antarctica. This research helped oceanographers estimate how sea ice formations affected fish stocks, assists in oceanic circulation, & numerous other things. This work led to a lifelong fascination with the Antarctic, which she kept until her unfortunate passing.
Armand was awarded the esteemed Marie Curie fellowship from the EU, being the first Australian scientist to earn this fellowship. Upon earning it, she began doing research at the University of Aix-Marseille in the Southern region of France. She began working more with Diatoms, an animal she was thoroughly fascinated & enamored by. She participated in multiple research missions while with the University, & worked with both fossilized & live diatoms.
In 2009, she moved back to Australia to begin a professorship at Macquarie University in Sydney. She joined the Climate Futures Center of Research Excellence, & lectured multiple courses in marine sciences to undergraduate students. During her time there, she spearheaded a research team researching phytoplankton. Armand ended up as Deputy director at the university’s Marine Research Center for a year from 2015 to 2016, before moving on.
She soon joined the CSIRO Australian Government Agency to participate in their Scientists & Schools Program, where she shared her experiences as a female paleontologist & marine researcher.
Armand formidably led the National Collaborative Australian Postgraduate Sea Training Alliance Network as director from 2013 to 2017, designing multiple masters-level sea-based training courses. The program is now managed by the Marine National Facility.
Soon after, she became Chief Scientist of the Australian Research Vessel known as the RV Investigator. She took the vessel, & a team of international marine scientists, to the Southern Ocean near Antarctica to study glacial conditions near East Antarctica & the Sabrina Coast. For all her Antarctic efforts, particularly on this expedition, she was awarded the U.S Antarctic Service Medal, a high-ranking medal awarded by the Department of Defence.
In 2018, she re-joined her alma mater Australian National University, in the Research School of Earth Science.
Unfortunately, Armand passed away on January 4th, 2022 in Canberra, Australia. She passed away after a short battle with an incredibly aggressive form of cancer. She is survived by her husband Stéphane, her sons Maxime & Gaston, & her numerous colleagues. Her contributions to the field will never be forgotten, & she remains an inspiration to many Australian & International Scientists to this day.
Her Achievements, Honorables, Awards, & Accomplishments
In 2014, she received the prestigious U.S Antarctic Service Medal, an award presented by the United States Department of Defence for her work in the Southern Ocean.
She earned the Rose Provasoli Award from Bigelow’s Laboratory, named in honor of Henry Bryant Bigelow.
She received the esteemed Dorothy Hill award from her alma mater, Australian National University, for her Paleo-oceanographic research.
From 2016 to 2020, she was a council member of the International Society for Diatom Research.
She was the Australian and New Zealand International Ocean Discovery Program Consortium for multiple years.
Directories / Credits
Citation No. 1: “Dr. Leanne Armand, marine micropaleontologist”, Written by Marian Hyde, & Published in 2001. Published by the Australian Academy of Science.
Citation No. 2: “Leanne Armand”, Written by Unknown, & Published at an Unknown Date. Published by the Australian Academy of Science.
Citation No. 3: “Obituary - Professor Leanne Armand, ANZIC Professor”, Written by Unknown, & Published on January 22nd, 2022. Published by Australian National University.
Citation No. 4: “With Great Sadness”, Written By Sarah Spaulding, & Published at an Unknown Date. Published by the International Society for Diatom Research.
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