Charles Cockell
University of Edinburgh
Professor of Astrobiology & Director of the UK Centre for Astrobiology
Charles's research interests encompass the study of life in extreme environments, microbe-mineral interactions and the habitability of extraterrestrial environments.
Suniti Karunatillake
Louisiana State University
Associate Professor, Geology & Geophysics
LSU Planetary Science Laboratory
Suniti's planetary science lab group focuses broadly on synthesizing remote sensing data at micro- and macro-scales to characterize geological processes. Related works, with a martian emphasis, span topics such as regional soil hydration and weathering; pathways of halogen volatility; subglacial melting from geothermal fluxes, etc. Computational applications of segmenting planetary soil images and multivariate hierarchical regression underlie such works. Analog field sites include a putative impact site in Louisiana and the serpentine zone in Sri Lanka. The latter is an emerging collaboration with Lankan research institutions, where Dr. Perl's expertise will illuminate key habitability aspects including Fe-oxidizing microbial mats in associated springs.
Aaron Celestian
Los Angeles Natural History Museum
Researcher & Curator, Mineral Sciences
Aaron Celestian’s current research focuses on Earth materials and their synthetic analogues for environmental applications, bio-mineral interactions, and planetary sciences. His work on planetary mineral systems is rooted in experimental design, real-time mineral characterization, and mineral discovery & application. In addition to research, Dr. Celestian oversees the Gem & Mineral Hall at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and regularly develops mineral science exhibits seen by approximately one million visitors per year.
Kevin Freedman
Assistant Professor in Bioengineering,
University of California Riverside
Kevin’s research lies at the intersection of single entity (molecule or cell) biophysics and nanoscale device physics. His lab focuses on label-free technology such as nanopore-based electrical sensing and single molecule Raman sensing. In order to maximize robustness and sensitivity of these techniques, trapping techniques are also routinely used to measure single entities over a longer period of time. Kevin is interested in applying these technologies to astrobiology; specifically life detection and the characterization of extreme life here on earth.
Christine Foreman
Montana State University, Center for Biofilm Engineering
Distinguished Professor Chemical & Biological Engineering,
Women in Science Distinguished Professor,
Associate Dean for Student Success
The Foreman Research Group (www.foremanresearch.gov) studies life in icy environments using a combination of field and laboratory studies, as well as approaches ranging from the single cell to the community level. They are interested in understanding how microbes survive in extreme environments, investigating microbial biosignatures and validating life detection technologies.
Alyson Santoro
Professor, Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology
University of California, Santa Barbara
My research focuses on microbes involved in nutrient cycling in the ocean, especially of the element nitrogen. I am interested in cultivating new microbes and discovering novel ways of tracking their activity. This research combines laboratory experiments with field observations, and to date has used genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics and stable isotope geochemistry as tools to uncover the activity of microbes in the mesopelagic ocean. A particular focus of the lab is the marine archaea, a largely uncultured group of microbes. Findings from our recent research include the discovery that archaea in the ocean can make the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide, and that some marine archaea have exceptionally small genomes.
Sally Potter-McIntyre
Associate Professor, School of Earth Systems and Sustainability
Southern Illinois University
Sally Potter-McIntyre is an astrobiologist and clastic sedimentologist who focuses on understanding subsurface fluid/rock/biota interactions in sedimentary rocks. She is a field geologist who uses terrestrial analogs to interpret similar processes on Mars. She earned her PhD. In 2013 at the University of Utah under the tutelage of Marjorie Chan. She is currently an associate professor in the School of Earth Systems and Sustainability at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, IL.
Sona Hosseini
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Planetary Science and Planetary Instrumentation
Sona Hosseini, Ph. D., is a planetary scientist and a technologist who studies the abundance, sources, and sinks of water in the lunar environment. She conceptualizes miniature high spectral resolution spectroscopic techniques to enable novel fundamental measurements suitable for deep space and small satellites in future NASA space missions.
Jake Crandall
Professor Laureate, Eastern Illinois University, Geology and Geography Department
Dr. Crandall’s research interests lie in the exploration of volcanic terrestrial analogs for both Mars and Venus. Through the lenses of petrology, mineralogy, geochemistry, and spectroscopy, constraints can be placed on emplacement conditions, behaviors, alteration, and weathering patterns. Through the use of various analytical techniques, the detectability of magma-sediment alteration and the resolution of both in-situ and remote sensing analyses can also be explored.
Pin Chen
Scientist, Planetary & Exoplanetary Atmospheres
NASA Exoplanet Exploration Program
Pin Chen collaborates with Scott in developing the AROC (Atmosphere-Rock-Ocean Chemistry) model to investigate potential biosignatures. This model integrates atmospheric photochemistry and equilibrium aqueous chemistry to model coupled atmosphere-hydrosphere-lithosphere chemistry. We envisage AROC representing the “planetary reactor,” which chemically processes biogenic gases to produce changes in atmospheric composition. We aim to identify detectable atmospheric spectral signatures that potentially indicate habitability and/or life
Keith Chin
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Research Technologist & Electrochemist
Dr. Keith Chin holds BS, MS and Ph.D. degrees in chemical engineering. His Ph.D. work at USC emphasized computational physics of solid-state materials combining phenomenological electrochemistry and molecular physics modeling. At JPL, the bulk of his research interests focus on the development and the infusion of energy storage, energy generation, and in-situ electrochemical instrumentation (development, modeling, and prototyping) technologies for a broad range of autonomous spacecraft systems from Cubesats to Flagship missions.
Bonnie Baxter
Westminster College
Professor of Biology & Director of the Great Salt Lake Institute
Bonnie studies the microbial diversity of Great Salt Lake and is interested in halophiles as models for astrobiology. This led her to study the formation and persistence of microbialites in hypersaline waters. She and Scott are using Great Salt Lake as an analogue for ancient salt lakes on Mars.
Tullis C. Onstott
Princeton University
Professor of Geosciences, Geomicrobiology Research Group
My research focuses on exploring subsurface microbiology initially focusing on large scale microbial transport and relating paleothermal history to the origins of subsurface microorganisms. My most impactful work comes from our field studies in the ultradeep mines of South Africa. Based upon theoretical analyses I hypothesized that radiolysis could support chemolithotrophic bacteria in the crust and we proved that hypothesis true with the discovery of Cand. Desulforudis audaxviator in South Africa. My research group has also carried out studies on a wide range of topics including combined metatranscriptome / metaproteome / geochemical analyses of subsurface samples, sequenced genomes of high affinity atmospheric CH4 oxidizing bacteria in the Arctic and Antarctica, genomic analyses of Dinosaur “soft tissue”, analyses of trace gas oxidizing bacteria in early Mars analog environments and recovery of microbial genomes from ancient DNA.
Jaimi Butler
Westminister College
Coordinator, Great Salt Lake Institute
Jaimi is the coordinator of the Great Salt Lake Institute. Despite the Great Salt Lakes’ reputation for being inhospitable Jaimi fell in love with the lake. Jaimi has helped increase knowledge and shape perceptions of GSL through work in the private sector, government, and academia. Jaimi’s primary areas of studies include the brine shrimp and bird populations that thrive at the lake. Jaimi and her students educate the community about the importance of the lake.
