SLU Team Awards

Signatures of Life in the Universe Team Awards

Goal: to advance fundamental science for finding signatures of life in the universe and develop approaches for breakthroughs.

Team Awards 2023

Morgan Cable, Planetary Science Section, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory / California Institute of Technology ⁴
Nagissa Mahmoudi, Earth & Planetary Sciences, McGill University ¹
The Power is in the Poop: Experimental Investigation of Microbially-Generated Organics as a Biosignature for Ocean Worlds

Jennifer Bergner, Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley ¹
Christopher Glein, Space Science Division, Southwest Research Institute ¹
Renyu Hu, Astrophysics & Space Sciences, Jet Propulsion Laboratory ⁴
A Close Look at the Habitability of Water Worlds

Marc Neveu, Astronomy / Planetary Environments Laboratory, University Maryland/NASA Goddard Space Flight Center ⁴
Malena Rice, Astronomy, Yale University ¹
Leslie Rogers, Astronomy & Astrophysics, University of Chicago ¹
Investigating the Biological Potential of Moons in the Uranus System

Peter Gao, Earth and Planets Laboratory, Carnegie Institution for Science ¹
Renyu Hu, Astrophysics & Space Sciences, Jet Propulsion Laboratory ⁴
Chenguang Sun, Geological Sciences, University of Texas at Austin ¹
Constraining Volatile Budgets in Small Exoplanets through Coupled Petrological and Atmospheric Modeling and Observations

Greg Fournier, EAPS, Massachusetts Institute of Technology ¹
Morgan Raven, Earth Science, University of California, Santa Barbara ²
Sulfur Assimilation: A Novel Proxy for Redox Transitions in the Early Biosphere

Bradford Foley, Geosciences, Pennsylvania State University ²
Sukrit Ranjan, Planetary Sciences, University of Arizona ³
Rebecca Rapf, Chemistry, Trinity University ³
Morgan Raven, Earth Science, University of California, Santa Barbara ²
Constraining the Abiotic Sulfur Cycle on Temperate Terrestrial Planets

Tyler Robinson, Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona ²
Amanda Stockton, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology ²
Irradiated Sea Spray Aerosol Generation and Analysis Under Early Earth Atmospheres

Paul Bracher, Chemistry, Saint Louis University ¹
Christopher Hamilton, Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona ¹
Rocky Roads: Flow Pathways and Chemical Evolution in Vesicular Lava and Pumice

¹ Funded by Heising-Simons Foundation
² Funded by RCSA
³ Funded by Kavli Foundation
⁴ Funded by NASA

Team Awards 2022

Katherine de Kleer, Geological and Planetary Sciences, Caltech *
Sarah Hörst, Earth and Planetary Science, Johns Hopkins University *
Sarah Maurer, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Central Connecticut State University *
Enceladus Plume Chemistry: From Lab to Telescope

Aaron Engelhart, Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development, University of Minnesota ^
Fang Liu, Chemistry, Emory University ^
Computational and Experimental Investigations of Martian Brines as Prebiotic Environments

Kate Follette, Physics and Astronomy, Amherst College *
Jeffrey Marlow, Biology, Boston University *
From Exoplanets to Microbes: Using Astronomical Image Processing Techniques to Detect Microbes in Astrobiological Contexts

Paul Bracher, Chemistry, Saint Louis University ^
Ilse Cleeves, Astronomy, University of Virginia *
Brimstone Life: Hypothetical Sulfur Worlds and Their Possible Biosignatures

Eddie Schwieterman, Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California, Riverside †
Ziming Yang, Chemistry, Oakland University †
Methylated Organometallic Gases as Potential Biosignatures

Nick Cowan, Earth & Planetary Sciences and Physics, McGill University *
Joseph O'Rourke, Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University *
Leslie Rogers, Astronomy & Astrophysics, University of Chicago *
Chenguang Sun, Geological Sciences, University of Texas at Austin *
Volatile Reservoirs and the Habitability of M-Earths

Zachary Adam, Geoscience, University of Wisconsin – Madison ^
Fang Liu, Chemistry, Emory University ^
Assessing False Positive Biosignatures and Prebiotic Synthesis Generated by Two Candidate Autocatalytic Reaction Sets of Aqueous Sulfur

Laurie Barge, Planetary Sciences, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory ‡
Frances Rivera-Hernández, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology *
Mars Sample Return: Connecting Martian Environmental Geochemistry to Returned Samples

* Funded by Heising-Simons Foundation
^ Funded by RCSA
† Funded by Kavli Foundation
‡ Funded by NASA

Team Awards 2021

Greg Fournier, Earth, Atmosphere and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology *
Stilianos Louca, Biology, University of Oregon †
Can the Search for Oxygenated Atmosphere Biosignatures Lead to False Negatives?

Jen Glass, School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology †
Edwin Kite, Geophysical Sciences, University of Chicago §
Smadar Naoz, Physics and Astronomy, UCLA †
Methane from Nontraditional Abiotic Sources and Potential for False Biosignature Positives

Marc Neveu, Dept. of Astronomy / Planetary Environments Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center / University of Maryland ‡
Ziming Yang, Chemistry, Oakland University †
How may Biosignatures in Icy Ocean Worlds be Affected by Plume Ejection?

Laurie Barge, Planetary Sciences, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory ‡
Jeffrey Marlow, Biology, Boston University †
Synthetic Mineral Geo-Electrodes for Detecting Life on Ocean Worlds

Rika Anderson, Biology, Carleton College †
Noah Planavsky, Geology and Geophysics, Yale †
Long Term Controls on the Scope of Earth’s Biosphere

Bradford Foley, Geosciences, Pennsylvania State University *
Kimberly Lau, Geosciences, Pennsylvania State University *
Stephanie Olson, Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Science, Purdue University *
Water, Water Everywhere … Drops to Drink but Nothing to Eat? A Model for the Evolution of Ocean Chemistry on Waterworlds

Aaron Engelhart, Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development, University of Minnesota *
Meredith MacGregor, Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder *
Laura Schaefer, Geological Sciences, Stanford University *
Could Nucleic Acid-Based Life Survive on Oxygen-Rich M Dwarf Planets?

Edwin Kite, Geophysical Sciences, University of Chicago *
Stilianos Louca, Biology, University of Oregon *
Chris Reinhard, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology *
Stochastic Simulation of Evolving Planetary Biospheres

* Funded by Heising-Simons
† Funded by RCSA
‡ Funded by NASA
§ Funded by RCSA with Kavli Foundation support