NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI)

Australian Centre for Astrobiology (ACA)

Malcolm Walter
Director, ACA
University of New South Wales
malcolm.walter@unsw.edu.au

http://aca.unsw.edu.au/

The Australian Centre for Astrobiology (ACA) was one of the NAI’s first international partners (established 2001), and is one of only two at the more formal level of Associate Partner. The research of the ACA, based at the University of New South Wales, focuses on microbiology, palaeobiology, organic geochemistry, planetary science, astronomy and science communication. Its investigators conduct research into some of the earliest records of life on Earth – the ancient stromatolite fossils found in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, research into extant stromatolites in Australia’s Shark Bay study area, and the potential for life on other planets. The ACA is actively seeking advanced students and post-doctoral researchers in the fields listed above and scholarship opportunities are being made available. Current active research includes the geological evidence for early life on Earth, the microbiology of analogous modern systems (particularly those including archaea and extremophiles), biomarker geochemistry of modern and ancient environments, infrared sensing of Venus and Mars using ground-based telescopes, the search for extrasolar planets, and science communication and education within the framework of astrobiology. Collaborative research opportunities with U.S. investigators, and international researchers in general, are actively sought.

The Director of the ACA is Professor Malcolm Walter, whose research centers on the early Earth and the interaction between the earliest life and its environment. The Deputy Directors are Professor Brett Neilan, whose research interests include the molecular biology and functional microbiology of stromatolite systems and the toxins of cyanobacteria, and Professor Chris Tinney, whose research interests include astrophysics and the search for extrasolar planets.