NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI)

Astrobiology Graduate Student Conference: Everyone Gets to Go!

The Astrobiology Graduate Student Conference (AbGradCon) will be held at the University of Washington on July 17-20, 2009. The primary goal of AbGradCon is to bring together early-career astrobiologists—graduate students of any level and postdocs who have finished their PhDs within the last two years—to share results, create and maintain a network of colleagues, and to foster interdisciplinary awareness.

Those who cannot travel to Seattle for AbGradCon 2009 can still participate through a variety of online and virtual world activities. Starting with a virtual welcome reception in Second Life on July 6, and during the conference, the organizers of AbGradCon have arranged for remote participation through a suite of online events. Check out the many options for connecting remotely to the conference described below, and join in the excitement!

July 6, 11am -12 noon PDT: Welcome reception in Second Life
The welcome reception is an opportunity for participants to become familiar with Second Life and the AbGradCon virtual conference center. Stroll around the grounds to check out the poster area, the amphitheatre where talks will be streamed, the virtual Space Needle, and to pick up your free AbGradCon avatar t-shirt. The reception will feature live music and dancing as well as information on the upcoming conference. When entering the Second Life AbGradCon reception area, look for a pop-up window that describes how you can have your real name show above your avatar name—a virtual name badge that will help in networking with others attending in Second Life! If you need assistance during the reception, look for avatars wearing green t-shirts, who will be available to help.

AbGradCon talks will be streamed into the Second Life Amphitheatre and viewable online from a browser during the times listed below. Choose your venue to listen to the next generation of researchers share their work.
July 17, 09:00am – 12:30pm PDT
July 17: 03:45pm – 05:15pm PDT
July 18: 09:00am – 12:30pm PDT
July 18: 01:30pm – 04:15pm PDT

July 17, 1:00pm – 3:00pm PDT: Virtual world poster session. Concurrent with the real-world poster session in Seattle, posters will be available in the AbGradCon virtual conference center in Second Life. Avatars will be able to use the Second Life chat feature to pose questions to poster authors in Seattle, and there will be occasional appearances of poster authors through a video feed into Second Life.

July 18 – 6:00pm PDT: “Battle of the Goddesses: Gaia vs Medea,” a public debate featuring Jim Kasting and Peter Ward, followed by an “ask an astrobiologist” session. The debate will be streamed into Second Life. More information is available on the AbGradCon website

Throughout the conference, the AbGradCon Facebook page will be used as a social media hub, with links to YouTube and Flickr, Twitter updates, and blogging from the conference.

Related links:
AbGradCon website
AbGradCon Virtual Conference Center in Second Life
AbGradCon virtual meeting room (to view talks in a browser)
AbGradCon on Facebook