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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 of 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