Scialog: Signatures of Life in the Universe Fellows Named
Fifty-four promising early-career scientists have been named Fellows for a new Scialog initiative, Signatures of Life in the Universe. Co-sponsored by RCSA and the Heising-Simons Foundation and with additional program support from the Kavli Foundation, the program begins with its first conference on March 26-29 in Tucson, Arizona.
Signatures of Life in the Universe will bring together scientists from earth and planetary science, chemistry and physics, astronomy and astrobiology, microbiology and biochemistry, and computer and data science, to generate projects to gain fundamental understanding of habitability of planets, detection of life beyond Earth, and life in extreme environments on Earth or in Earth’s distant past.
Fellows are chosen from multiple disciplines and institutions across the U.S. and Canada to maximize creative thinking and innovative ideas. At each conference, participants form multidisciplinary teams to design cutting-edge research projects, which they pitch to leading scientists who have facilitated discussions throughout the meeting. A committee of these facilitators then recommends funding to seed the most promising team projects, based primarily on the potential for high-impact results.
Signatures of Life in the Universe Fellows for 2020 are:
Rika Anderson, Carleton College, Biology
Giada Arney, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Planetary Systems Laboratory
Laurie Barge, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planetary Sciences
Natasha Batalha, NASA Ames Research Center, Planetary Science
Cullen Blake, University of Pennsylvania, Physics and Astronomy
Morgan Cable, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Planetary Science Section
Nick Cowan, McGill University, Earth & Planetary Sciences and Physics
Simon Darroch, Vanderbilt University, Earth and Environmental Sciences
Katherine de Kleer, Caltech, Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences
Courtney Dressing, University of California, Berkeley, Astronomy
Solange Duhamel, University of Arizona, Molecular and Cellular Biology
Aaron Engelhart, University of Minnesota, Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development
Brad Foley, Pennsylvania State University, Geosciences
Greg Fournier, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, EAPS
Nathan Gabor, University of California Riverside, Physics and Astronomy
Jen Glass, Georgia Institute of Technology, School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
Christopher Hamilton, University of Arizona, Lunar and Planetary Laboratory
Trinity Hamilton, University of Minnesota, Plant and Microbial Biology
Keith Hawkins, University of Texas at Austin, Astronomy
Daniel Horton, Northwestern University, Earth and Planetary Sciences
Dan Huber, University of Hawaii, Institute for Astronomy
Betul Kacar, University of Arizona, Molecular and Cell Biology/Astronomy
Eliza Kempton, University of Maryland, Astronomy
Edwin Kite, University of Chicago, Department of Geophysical Sciences
Kim Lau, University of Wyoming, Geology and Geophysics
Joe Levy, Colgate University, Geology
Nikole Lewis, Cornell University, Astronomy
Gongjie Li, Georgia Tech, Physics
Liming Li, University of Houston, Physics Department
Stilianos Louca, University of Oregon, Biology.
Meredith MacGregor, University of Colorado Boulder, Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences
Shannon MacKenzie, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab, Planetary Exploration Group
Jeffrey Marlow, Boston University, Department of Biology
Smadar Naoz, UCLA, Physics and Astronomy
Marc Neveu, University of Maryland / NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Dept. of Astronomy / Planetary Environments Laboratory
Stephanie Olson, University of Chicago, Department of the Geophysical Sciences
Maggie Osburn, Northwestern University, Earth and Planetary Sciences
Noah Planavsky, Yale, Geology and Geophysics
Morgan Raven, University of California, Santa Barbara, Earth Science
Chris Reinhard, Georgia Institute of Technology, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
Andro Rios, NASA Ames Research Center, Exobiology Branch
Paul Robertson, University of California, Irvine, Physics & Astronomy
Tyler Robinson, Northern Arizona University, Astronomy and Planetary Science
Leslie Rogers, University of Chicago, Astronomy & Astrophysics
Laura Schaefer, Stanford University, Geological Sciences
Hilke Schlichting, UCLA, Earth, Planetary and Space Sciences
Eddie Schwieterman, University of California, Riverside, Earth and Planetary Sciences
Kirsten Siebach, Rice University, Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Science
Andy Skemer, UC Santa Cruz, Astronomy & Astrophysics
Amanda Stockton, Georgia Institute of Technology, Chemistry and Biochemistry
Andrew Vanderburg, University of Texas at Austin, Astronomy
Sara Walker, Arizona State University, School of Earth and Space Exploration
Ji Wang, The Ohio State University, Astronomy
Ke (Coco) Zhang, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Astronomy
Signatures of Life in the Universe will be facilitated by these leading scientists:
Daniel Apai, University of Arizona, Steward Observatory
Shawn Domagal-Goldman, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Planetary Systems Laboratory
Kate Freeman, Penn State University, Geosciences and Chemistry
Tori Hoehler, NASA Ames Research Center, Exobiology branch
Lisa Kaltenegger, Carl Sagan Institute, Cornell, Astronomy
Tim Lyons, University of California, Riverside, Earth and Planetary Sciences
Victoria Meadows, University of Washington, Astronomy
Niki Parenteau, NASA Ames Research Center, Exobiology Branch
Dimitar Sasselov, Harvard University, Astronomy
Anat Shahar, Carnegie Institution for Science, Geophysical Laboratory
Multiple organizations will be represented at the meeting by the following program officers:
Jamie Bender, The Brinson Foundation
Jochen (Joe) Marschall, Heising-Simons Foundation, Science
Chris Martin, The Kavli Foundation, Science
Mary Voytek, NASA, Headquarters, Astrobiology
Andrew Feig, Research Corporation
Silvia Ronco, Research Corporation
Richard Wiener, Research Corporation
