Corale brierley biography

James and Corale Brierley

2014 Medal of Merit Recipients

The Brierleys met at Montana State University in Bozeman and subsequently married in 1963.

Corale, the daughter of ranchers, grew up in southwestern Montana and sometimes rode Betty, her horse, to her one-room country school house. Jim, the only child of an immigrant single mother, developed his lifelong fascination with thermal springs when he accidentally stepped into one on his first trip to Yellowstone National Park at age 9. 

While working on his post-graduate studies, Jim’s extensive research led to the discovery of the first high temperature (thermophilic) acid loving microorganism - Acidianus brierleyi – named by German scientists in his honor.  After earning his PH.D., Jim joined the faculty of New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology (NMT) in Socorro and Corale often enrolled in his courses.

In 1982, Corale was approached to form a company to develop biotechnology for mining and