text: Sumner was elected a Fellow of the Geological Society of America in 2014. Also in 2014, she was selected to deliver the honorary Carl Sagan Lecture at the American Geophysical Union. In 2016, Sumner was awarded the Career Award for Outstanding Contributions in Geosciences, Geobiology and Microbiology from the Geological Society of America. Sumner also received the distinguished career award from the University of California, Davis 2016: for extensive research in microbiology, geochemistry, and research in the exploration of mars over her career. More recently, Sumner's was one of 14 selected to become a fellow of the California Academy of Sciences for her contributions to the study of microbial sciences.