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

这个综合研究生教育和研究培训（IGERT）奖将支持建立一个基础广泛的研究生培训计划，研究极端环境下的生命及其与理解地球上以及潜在的其他行星上生命进化的相关性。最近的科学结果强调了研究在不寻常的栖息地中繁殖的微生物的实践和理论重要性，包括那些温度和化学成分很可能与地球上生命进化时的条件完全相同的地方。这些结果还指出，这些研究在规划和评估旨在探测其他行星上可能促进生命进化的环境的努力方面具有实用价值。该计划的后一个方面现在通常被称为“天体生物学”。这个多学科项目将由来自航空航天、天文学、大气科学、生物化学、化学、遗传学、地质科学、地球物理、微生物学和海洋学等部门的14名教师以及私营和公共部门的实习导师共同努力。美国国家科学基金会每年将为11名研究生提供助学金，并支付学生研究培训的相关费用。学生将至少学习为IGERT计划创建的五门新课程中的三门，并且必须完成其所在部门的现有课程要求。必修课程将强调从益生元合成到真核细胞发展的生命进化的最新知识，以及行星形成的物理和化学原理。学生将与参与的教师一起参加每周一次的IGERT研讨会和在实地或实验室举行的年度研讨会，这些研讨会将侧重于校园无法获得的方法和技术。IGERT是一个新的，nsf范围内的项目，其目标是赞助建立创新的，以研究为基础的研究生项目，培养不同群体的新科学家和工程师，为私营和公共部门的各种职业做好准备。IGERT为开发新的、重点突出的多学科项目提供了机会，这些项目跨越了传统的组织障碍，将来自多个部门或机构的教师联合起来，为培训和研究建立了一个高度互动的协作环境。在第一年，该计划将为17个机构提供新的或新生的项目支持，这些项目涵盖了符合NSF支持条件的所有科学、工程和数学领域。

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.