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SETI Institute's Seth Shostak on Colbert Report
On May 20th, Steven Colbert of Comedy Central’s Colbert Report hosted Seth Shostak on the show to discuss his new book, Confessions of an Alien Hunter. Seth held his own against the notoriously contrary Colbert, discussing the probability of life elsewhere in the universe, and what it means if we do – and don’t – find it.
May 27, 2009 / Posted by: Daniella Scalice
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Student Astronomers Earn Top Honors in State Science Fair
NAI’s University of Hawai’i Team has conducted the Hawai’i Student-Teacher Astronomy Research (HI STAR) program for the past four years and counting, supporting middle and high school students to carry-out astronomy research projects under the mentorship of NAI scientists and other astronomers. Teams of 3-4 students and their science teacher come to UH for a week in the summer for background training, project selection, and mentor-matching. Through lectures, demos, and hands-on activities, the students learn astronomical concepts such as spectroscopy, image processing, and remote observation. Projects are selected, and students make plans with...
April 28, 2009 / Posted by: Daniella Scalice
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NPR's Science Friday on Origins of Life and the Universe
National Public Radio’s Science Friday broadcasted live from Arizona State University on Friday, April 3rd as part of their Origins Symposium. The symposium, which inaugurated ASU’s new Origins Initiative, featured world renowned scientists Stephen Hawking, Steven Pinker, Richard Dawkins, and Craig Venter. The Science Friday broadcast included two panels: Physicists and the Origin of the Universe, and Origins and Evolution of Life. Listen to the archive here.
April 7, 2009 / Posted by: Daniella Scalice
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NAI Public Lecture (and the New York Times) Kick Off 2009 Celebration of Darwin
Yesterday, the NAI sponsored the first talk in a new lecture series hosted by NASA Ames Research Center. The series is designed to celebrate several important scientific anniversaries in 2009: Darwin’s 200th birthday, the 150th anniversary of his landmark publication On the Origin of Species, the 400th anniversary of Galileo’s first use of the telescope, the 40th anniversary of the Apollo Moon landing, the 70th anniversary of NASA Ames Research Center, and the 25th anniversary of the SETI Institute.
Last night’s talk featured James Strick, an historian of science from Franklin...
March 13, 2009 / Posted by: Daniella Scalice
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Life in Extreme Environments Educator Conference
The Life in Extreme Environments Educator Conference, hosted by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory Education Office, was held on January 24-25, 2009 in JPL’s von Kármán auditorium. E/PO Leads from NAI’s teams at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, JPL-Titan, and JPL-Icy Worlds participated in producing the event. Eighty-one educators attended.
The program included an introduction to astrobiology, as well as more detailed presentations outlining astrobiology research into extrasolar planet habitability, pre-biotic chemistry, spectral “bio”signatures, and planetary protection. NAI educational materials were distributed.
The conference also served as a platform from which to test a remote...
February 9, 2009 / Posted by: Daniella Scalice
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A Banner Year for Astrobiology in Discover Magazine's Top 100 Stories of 2008
NAI-funded research confirming the presence of extraterrestrial nucleobases within the Murchison meteorite featured squarely in the middle of Discover’s annual Top 100 list, coming in at number 50. Researchers from NAI’s NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Team contributed to the remarkable study, the results of which imply that the building blocks of life could be widespread throughout the universe. Other stories of astrobiological significance anchored the list on both ends: the confirmation of water ice on Mars by NASA’s Phoenix lander—number 6; and the detection of hydrocarbons in the icy jets of...
January 12, 2009 / Posted by: Daniella Scalice
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Astrobiology Curriculum Pilot Kicks-Off Maine STEM Initiative
The pilot-test of a NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI)-supported curriculum entitled Astrobiology: An Integrated Science Approach helped kick-off the State of Maine’s new Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Initiative. This initiative was the subject of a press conference given this week by Maine’s Governor, The Honorable John E. Baldacci.
The curriculum was developed with significant input from the NAI Team at NASA Ames Research Center led by Dave Des Marais, who spoke at the press conference. Much of the team’s research in astrobiology is captured in the curriculum.
Providing ninth grade students an...
November 19, 2008 / Posted by: Daniella Scalice
