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We are pleased to announce the selections for the October 2017 Early Career Collaboration Award (ECCA).

Saehyun Choi, Pennsylvania State University
Saehyun will collaborate with Laurie Barge (Jet Propulsion Laboratory), “Combining organic-rich coacervates with hydrothermal vent systems as a model for prebiotic compartmentalization”.

Ashley Manning-Berg, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Ashley will travel to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory to collaborate with Kenneth Williford and Michael Tuite, for her project, “Preservation of Proterozoic Microbial Mats”.

Alexandra Pontrefact, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Alexandra will collaborate with Kenneth Williford and Rohit Bhartia at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for an “Investigation of microbial colonization in shocked basaltic targets”.

William Shoemaker, Indiana University
William will visit Victoria Orphan at the California Institute of Technology to study “Microbial dormancy and adaptation to energy-limitation”.

Caleb Schuler, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Caleb will collaborate with Dale Winebrenner and Tim Elam, at the University of Washington, Applied Physics Laboratory (APL). in support of his project “Planetary Protection and the Exploration of the Cryosphere”.

Michael Strange, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Michael will collaborate with James Schiffbauer at the University of Missouri to examine “Organo-mineral structures within Ediacaran tubicolous fossils: evidence of modern or ancient Fe oxidizing bacterial communities?”.

Ziming Yang, Oakland University
Ziming will collaborate with George Cody at the Carnegie Institution of Washington to examine amino acid synthesis and transformation in hydrothermal systems.

Congrats to the awardees! For more information on the Early Career Collaboration Award and information on how to apply for the next ECCA cycle, visit: http://nai.nasa.gov/funding/nasa-astrobiology-early-career-collaboration-award/