Connecting Art and Science

Adlerstein-Gonzalez studied biology at the Institute for Biological Sciences at the Universidad de Concepcion, and her research became more related to aquatic ecosystems as she focused her thesis on freshwater phytoplankton—microscopic organisms that inhabit the upper sunlit layer of almost all oceans and bodies of fresh water. Her research centered on the Maule River, one of Chile's largest rivers.

She worked at the Undersecretary of Fisheries in Chile before pursuing her master's and doctorate degrees at the University of Washington. She and her husband, Edgar Meyhofer, moved to his native Germany, where she worked at the University of Hamburg.

When Meyhofer was offered a position at U-M seven years later, Adlerstein-Gonzalez joined the university's School of Natural Resources and Environment as a research faculty member, conducting research mostly on aquatic ecology in Great Lakes populations and ecosystems.

Both of her loves—art and science—have always been present.
The different topics her paintings touch: human impact on the environment, death, the interconnectivity of terrestrial and aquatic systems, climate change.