National Research Council- Review of the NASA Astrobiology Institute

Presentations given by NAI Central Staff

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

• Carl Pilcher- Contributions of the NAI

• Marco Boldt- NAI Website: Statistics and Content Management

• Daniella Scalice- NAI's Education and Public Outreach Program

Thursday, July 26, 2007

• Marco Boldt- NAI Website: Member Usage

Guidance from NRC Study Director, David Smith:

The NRC's NAI Review Committee is keen to hear the views of as many knowledgable individuals as possible concerning the NAI. The specific questions the committee is seeking answers to are given below.

1. Has the NAI developed, as originally envisaged, as an evolving experiment in cutting-edge, distributed, collaborative science and education in astrobiology?
2. Does the NAI provide a unique and useful complement to other Astrobiology Program support mechanisms (e.g., individual grants to principle investigators), and if improvements need to be made to this area, what are they?
3. Are the research, training, and public educational activities of the NAI appropriately balanced in terms of investments and outcomes, services to NAI members and external partners, and activities that engage and support the wider astrobiology community and the needs of young professionals?
4. What other activities/roles not currently undertaken by the NAI might be appropriate in the future?
5. To what extent has the NAI succeeded in conducting, supporting, and catalyzing collaborative interdisciplinary research?
6. How successful was the NAI in training the next generation of astrobiology researchers?
7. How successful has the NAI been in providing scientific and technical leadership on astrobiology investigations for current and future space missions?
8. How successful has the NAI been in exploring new approaches, using modern information technology, to conduct interdisciplinary and collaborative research amongst widely-distributed investigators?
9. How successful has the NAI been in supporting outreach by providing scientific context for K-12 education programs, teaching undergraduate classes, and communicating directly with the public?

NASA Astrobiology Institute Overview 29 June 2007

Click here to download the overview document.

Mary Cleave's letter to Len Fisk Chartering the Review

Click here to download the letter.