IGERT: Astrobiology: Life in and Beyond Earth's Solar System

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9870713 Staley This Integrative Graduate Education and Research Training (IGERT) award will support the establishment of a broadly- based graduate training program in study of life in extreme environments and on its relevance to understanding the evolution of life on earth and, potentially, on other planets. Recent scientific results have highlighted the practical and theoretical importance of studying microbes that prosper in unusual habitats, including those whose temperature and chemical composition may well duplicate the conditions thought to exist at the time life evolved on earth. These results have also pointed to the utility of such studies in planning and evaluating efforts aimed at detecting environments on other planets that might also foster the evolution of life. This later aspect of the program is now often referred to as "Astrobiology". The multidisciplinary program will be the joint effort of 14 faculty from the Departments of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Astronomy, Atmospheric Sciences, Biochemistry, Chemistry, Genetics, Geological Sciences, Geophysics, Microbiology and Oceanography, as well as internship mentors in the private and public sector. NSF support will provide stipends for 11 graduate students each year, and for related costs of student research training. Students will take at least three of five new courses to be created for the IGERT program, and must complete existing coursework requirements of their home departments. Required coursework will emphasize current knowledge of the evolution of life from prebiotic synthesis through development of Eukaryotic cells, and the physical and chemical principles of planetary formation. Along with participating faculty, students will participate in a weekly IGERT seminar and an annual workshop at a field site or laboratory that will focus on methods and techniques not available on campus. IGERT is a new, NSF-wide program whose goal is to sponsor the establishment of innovative, research-based graduate programs that will train a diverse group of new scientists and engineers to be well-prepared for varied careers in the private and public sectors. IGERT provides an opportunity for the development of new, well-focused multidisciplinary programs that bridge traditional organizational barriers, uniting faculty from several departments or institutions to establish a highly-interactive collaborative environment for both training and research. In its first year, the program will provide support to 17 institutions for new or nascent programs that collectively span all areas of science, engineering and mathematics eligible for support by the NSF.