NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI)

Astrobiologists among the 2012 Geochemical Fellows

Susan Brantley (Penn State), James Farquhar (University of Maryland), Lee Kump (Penn State) and Kevin McKeegan (UCLA) are among the 2012 Geochemical Fellows.
The Geochemical Society and European Association of Geochemistry have announced ten researchers that have been selected to receive the honor of 2012 Geochemical Fellow. Among the fellows elected this year are four scientists whose work is supported in part by elements of the NASA Astrobiology Program:

• Susan Brantley (Penn State)
  NAI team:
  Pennsylvania State University (CAN5)

• James Farquhar (University of Maryland)
  NAI teams:
  Carnegie Institution of Washington (CAN5)
  Pennsylvania State University (CAN5)

• Lee Kump (Penn State)
  NAI Team:
  Pennsylvania State University (CAN5)

• Kevin McKeegan (UCLA)
  NAI Team:
  Pennsylvania State University (CAN5)

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January 26, 2012 / Posted by: Aaron Gronstal

NAI Announces 2011 Director's Discretionary Fund Selections

The NASA Astrobiology Institute is pleased to announce selections for research awards resulting from its 2011 Director’s Discretionary Fund competition. The selections cover a wide range of research topics, from an examination of microbial succession on islands of floating pumice to defining the habitable zone’s outer edge by combining climate evolution models with models of orbital and obliquity evolution.

The selections are as follows:

Tilt-A-Worlds: Chaotic Obliquities and the Limits of the Habitable Zone, Lead Investigator Rory Barnes
This project seeks to couple orbital models to climate models to perform interdisciplinary, self-consistent investigations of these planets’ habitability. These models...

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Source: [Link]

January 6, 2012 / Posted by: Daniella Scalice

FameLab Astrobiology in Houston

We need you in Houston! Sign up today to participate in FameLab Astrobiology at the Lunar and Planetary Institute on January 13th. FameLab is a science communication competition that focuses on building your skills with workshops on good communication practices. The workshop in Houston will be led by the Co-Directors of the National Association for Interpretation. Competitors will present a three-minute piece on their research or an astrobiology-related topic of their choosing. Those topping the competition in Houston will go on to the final at AbSciCon in April…the winner there will go...

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January 5, 2012 / Posted by: Daniella Scalice

New Astrobiology Chair at Library of Congress

APPLICATION DEADLINE IS NOW FEBRUARY 13TH

Candidates should apply directly using the online form. Nominations should be submitted in writing to scholarly@loc.gov.

NASA and the Library of Congress have established the Baruch S. Blumberg NASA-Library of Congress chair in Astrobiology at the Library’s scholarly research organization, the John W. Kluge Center in Washington. The chair is named for the late Nobel Laureate and founding director of the NASA Astrobiology Institute, Baruch
“Barry” Blumberg.

Astrobiology is the study of the origins, evolution, distribution and future of life in the universe. Astrobiology addresses three fundamental...

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January 3, 2012 / Posted by: Daniella Scalice

Ocean Deoxygenation: Past, Present, and Future

Mean global ocean oxygen concentrations at 200 meters below the surface. Note the extensive regions of low oxygen (oxygen minimum zones) throughout the low-latitude oceans and the subarctic Pacific. Data from the World Ocean Circulation Experiment Global Hydrographic Climatology [Gouretski and Koltermann, 2004].

A front page article and supplemental material were published by the American Geophysical Union in the Nov. 15, 2011 issue of EOS on “Ocean Deoxygenation, Past, Present, and Future.” The article was the product of an NAI-sponsored workshop held at NASA’s Ames Research Center in early 2010. The workshop brought together experts in modern and ancient ocean science to identify and develop synergies between studies of global climate change in the distant past and the present. The full workshop report is also available.

January 3, 2012 / Posted by: Daniella Scalice

Is Anyone Else Out There?

Screen shot of John Delano delivering the talk "Is Anyone Else Out There?" at TEDx Albany on November 12, 2011.

Join John Delano for a new astrobiology talk from TEDx Albany entitled, Is Anyone Else Out There? A survey of astrobiology research topics masterfully conveyed as a “story of us,” the talk ranges from the manufacture of organic molecules in space to extrasolar planets, to hyperthermophilichemolithoautotrophs!

Dr. Delano is a Distinguished Teaching Professor in the Department of Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences at the University at Albany (State University of New York), and is the Associate Director of the NAI’s New York Center for Astrobiology at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He is the author of 60 scientific...

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Source: [TEDx Albany]

December 29, 2011 / Posted by: Daniella Scalice

Introducing the Habitable Exoplanets Catalog

New from the Planetary Habitability Laboratory at the University of Puerto Rico, Arecibo, the Habitable Exoplanets Catalog is an online database for scientists, educators, and the general public focused on potential habitable exoplanet discoveries. The catalog uses various habitability indices and classifications to identify, rank, and compare exoplanets, including potential satellites or exomoons.

The database suggests over 15 exoplanets and 30 exomoons as potential habitable candidates.

Scientists are now starting to identify potential habitable exoplanets after nearly twenty years of the detection of the first planets around other stars. Over 700 exoplanets have been detected and confirmed with thousands...

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Source: [UPR Press Release]

December 12, 2011 / Written by: Abel Mendez