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The Astrobiology Science Conference 2015 (AbSciCon 2015) is the next in a series of conferences organized by the astrobiology community. The conference convened scientists from all over the world who work in the interdisciplinary field of astrobiology — the study of the origin, evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe — to report on research findings and plan future endeavors.

The theme for AbSciCon 2015 was “Habitability, Habitable Worlds, and Life.”

Please check AbSciCon’s website for more details.

Monday, June 15th
Plenary Sessions:
8:00 a.m.
Opening Remarks

8:15 a.m.
The Deep History of a Carbon Atom
Michael Callahan
Andrew Steele
Karen Meech

9:15 a.m.
Sustained Habitability on a Dynamic Early Earth
James Kasting
Panel Discussion

10:30 a.m.
The Beginning and End of the RNA World from the Perspective of Ribosome Origins
Harold Bernhardt
James Stephenson
Anton Petrov
G. Caetano-Anolles
Loren Williams
George Fox
Anthony Poole

1:45 p.m.
Major Transitions in Evolution: Catalysts and Constraints I: Inference from Natural Systems
Teresa Fornaro
Eric Boyd
Dawn Sumner
Zachary Adam
Laura Landweber
R. Michod
Zach Grochau-Wright
Cristian Solari

4:00 p.m.
Major Transitions in Evolution: Catalysts and Constraints II: Studying De Novo Complexity
Paul Higgs
Margie Kinnersley
Matt Herron
William Ratcliff
Jennifer Pentz
Peter Conlin
Eric Libby

Tuesday, June 16th
Plenary Sessions:
8:00 a.m.
Real Life or Fantasy: Biosignatures or Abiosignatures in Astrobiology
Abigail Allwood
Shawn Domagal-Goldman
Panel Discussion

9:15 a.m.
Nicholas Hud
Rachel Whitaker

10:30 a.m.
Habitability of Extraterrestrial Analog Environments I
Jan Amend
F. Puente-Sanchez
Sean Mullin
Michael Malaska
S. Payler
Frederic Gaboyer
Jennifer Glass
Ken Takai

Salon A5 Sessions:
4:00 p.m.
Habitability of Extraterrestrial Analog Environments III
Petra Schwendner
Petra Rettberg
Navita Sinha
Lucy Stewart
Shannon Bales
Si Sun
Rosalba Bonaccorsi
E.Z. Noe Dobrea

Wednesday, June 17th
Plenary Sessions:
8:00 a.m.
Understanding and Recognizing Exoplanet Habitability
Rory Barnes
Victoria Meadows

9:15 a.m.
Addressing Challenges in Public Engagement: A Community Conversation
Sanjoy Som
Grasshopper Illangkoon
Loren Williams
Michael Ceballos
Panel Discussion

10:15 a.m.
Honoring Those We Have Lost

Memorial Session

11:30 a.m.
The Habitability of Icy Worlds I
Morgan Cable
N.E. Bramall
W.C. Stone
Dale Winebrenner

1:45 p.m.
The Habitability of Icy Worlds II
Britney Schmidt
Sandra Ramirez
Brent Christner
Steve Vance
Marcio de Avellar
Mark Fries
Mark Skidmore
D.A. Patthoff

Salon A5 Sessions:
4:00 p.m.
Radiation and Habitability: Friends or Foes? III
John Cooper
Sarah Rugheimer
Henry Sun
Sukrit Ranjan
Orcun Kalkan
Antigona Segura

Thursday, June 18th
Plenary Sessions:
8:00 a.m.
Planets in Perspective: Where’s the Energy?
Panel Discussion

9:15 a.m.
Seeking Astrobiology Input to Mars 2020 Landing Site Selection
Panel Discussion

10:30 a.m.
Martian Habitability as Informed by Past and Ongoing Orbital, Lander, and Rover Missions
Kevin Zahnle
Paul Mahaffy
C. Freissinet
Katherine Bywaters
Richard Leveille
Jack Farmer
Briony Horgan
Geronimo Villanueva

Salon A5 Sessions:
1:45 p.m.
Mission to Early Earth: Co-Evolving Archean and Proterozoic Oceans, Atmospheres, and Life II
Nathan Sheldon
Brian Kendall
Bill Bottke
Genming Luo
Stephanie Olson
Charles Diamond
Alex Zumberge

4:00 p.m.
Mission to Early Earth: Co-Evolving Archean and Proterozoic Oceans, Atmospheres, and Life III
Lennart van Maldegem
Carina Lee
Dalton Hardisty
Giada Arney
Leanne Hancock
Linda Sohl
Niki Parenteau
Feifei Zhang

Friday, June 19th
Salon A5 Sessions:
8:10 a.m.
Co-Evolution of Compartmentalization, Metabolism, and Informational Polymers I
Andrew Bissette
Rebecca MacLeod
Chenyu Wei
Roy Black
Bruce Damer
David Summers
Andrew Pohorille
Anders Albertsen