NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI)

Student Support

NAI Research Scholarship

• Lara Vimercati worked w/ Rocco Mancinelli (report)
• Sabrina Kirste worked w/ Nader Haghighipour
• NASA Academy Student Courtney Dressing worked with Nathalie Cabrol

Lewis and Clark – 9 students supported for fieldwork

• Benjamin Black – Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa
• Barbara Cavalazzi – Rio Salado, Chile
• Jackie Denson – Lake Magadi, Kenya
• Emiley Eloe – Puerto Rico Trench
• Ian Johnson – Pilbara Craton, Australia
• Michael Meyer – Windhoek, Namibia, North Carolina, Berkeley, CA New Haven, Conn
• Jorge Nunez – Coromandel Peninsula, New Zealand
• Kristen Myshrall – Green Lake, NY
• Noah Planavsky traveled to the Labrador Trough, Canada

Mediterranean Institute for Life Sciences Summer School on Life in Extreme Conditions – 3 students supported – Fathi Karoula, Vinh Pham and Blaire Steven. (report)

Joint NAI/ACA Santander Summer School – 20 students supported

Nordic-UH NAI Astrobiology Summer School – 19 US students supported for a 2 week program of lectures, lab and field trips

Space Generation Congress – Glasgow, Scotland – 1 speaker and two student delegates supported (report)

Member Travel

• Hiroshi Ohmoto to CAB
• Nader Haghighipour- UH Team supported to travel to 5 conferences (report)

International Collaboration – Dawn Cardace travel support for field trip and collaborative work in New Zealand (report)

Focus Groups:

Microbial Systems and the Environment, CRISPR Workshop – July 2008 Berkeley

Planetary System Formation, January 2009 workshop in coordination with AAS Meeting, Long Beach, CA

Conferences/Workshops:

• Japanese Geochemical Society, September 2008 2 participants
• Extinctions and Modern Climate Change – NAI Coordination and travel support for 1 participant
• Strategic Science Initiative Workshop – ~80 participants in Tempe, AZ
• World Summit on Ancient Microscopic Fossils – co-sponsor of international summit for 25 participants – UCLA
• Molecular Basis of Microbial One-Carbon Metabolism – NAI Coordination and travel support for 15 participants
• Cool Stars, Stellar System and the Sun 15 – St. Andrews, Scotland, partial travel support for 9 speakers (report)
• 37th Scientific Assembly of COSPAR – Montreal, Canada – support of two sessions
• Origin of Earth Water Mission Instrument Development Workshop, Molokai, Hawaii
• Workshop to Develop an Astrobiology Roadmap of Societal Issues. Mountain View, CA
• Workshop on the Habitability of Super-Earth Planets, Aspen, CO

Ames Anniversary Lectures – Jim Strick, public lecture, ~150 participants, Mountain View, CA

MIRS (report)
Two Faculty Fellows

• Rakesh Mogul, Cal Poly Pomona to work with Venkateswaran, JPL
• Aaron Cavosie, U Puerto Rico to work with John Valley U Wisc, Madison