Understanding the origins of life on Earth and beyond.
Our Research
We study life’s chemical and physical evolution, from its pre-solar beginnings through planetary formation to the emergence of life on Earth. We search for signs of life on other planets and we document the nature of microbial life at extreme conditions as well as the characterization of organic matter in fossils here on Earth. Our team was one of the foundational members of the NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI).
Research Staff
Conel M. O'D. Alexander - Cosmochemistry; isotopic chemistry and origin of interstellar grains, origin of the organic compounds in meteorites
George Cody - Geochemistry; chemical history of the early Solar System; geobiological applications of Solid State Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (NMR)
Robert Hazen - Coevolving geosphere and biosphere; Earth's evolving mineralogy; interactions among organic biomolecules and mineral surfaces; mineral-mediated chemistry in the context of origins of life; emergence of pre-biotic chemical complexity
Andrew Steele - Astrobiology; planetary science; defining a multi-technique and robust hypotheses testing for the detection of life on early earth and elsewhere in the solar system.
Dionysis Foustoukos - Geochemistry; planetary science; evolution of geofluids in a wide range of natural environments
Technical Staff
Emma Bullock - Electron Microprobe Lab Manager
Jianhua Wang - SIMS Lab Manager
Suzy Vitale - FIB Lab Manager
Postdoctoral Fellows and Associates
Michael L. Wong - Ph.D. Ph.D., Planetary Science (2018), California Institute of Technology
Tools of the Trade
We utilize a wide range of spectroscopic instrumentation for the interrogation of the molecular structure, chemical, and isotopic composition of natural organic materials of biological and non-biological origin, including Raman, FTIR, GC-mass spectroscopy, solid-state NMR, electron microprobe, SIMS, EPMA, and SEM. We also operate chemical and experimental labs for culturing, synthesis, and characterization of organic materials.
