NAI Newsletter

Upcoming NAI Director’s Seminars

Join us on March 25 at 11:00am PDT, Daniel Apai (University of Arizona) will present Exploring New Worlds And on April 29 at 11:00am PDT, Peter Gogarten (University of Connecticut) will present Darwin's Coral of Life, Gene Transfer, and Inferring Properties of the Early Biosphere The Director’s Seminar series features talks from scientists who are invited by the NAI Director to present their research results to the community. A primary goal of the seminars is to encourage interdisciplinary collaboration across NAI teams and throughout the astrobiology community.

Stellar Stoichiometry - Workshop Without Walls

The Astrobiology group at Arizona State University is proud to sponsor Stellar Stoichiometry, April 11-12, 2013. This workshop will examine the growing evidence that elemental abundance ratios of stars vary considerably from solar, and discuss the consequences of elemental variability on the existence and habitability of planets. To this end we are bringing together many of the world's leading stellar spectroscopists to figure out why abundance ratios derived by different groups vary significantly, and to figure out what are the true intrinsic variations. The workshop can be attended in person at ASU or virtually, anywhere in the world. We also invite all interested parties to submit a pdf "e-poster" and to present it online in a short lightning talk. There is no registration fee to attend, but please register and view the schedule and participant list at http://stellarstoich.sese.asu.edu/

The Hadean Earth-Moon System - Workshop Without Walls

The NAI Early Earth Focus Group is pleased to announce a Workshop Without Walls on "The Hadean Earth-Moon System". Aimed at providing the most up-to-date science on the first billion years’ history of the Earth–Moon system (from solar system formation at 4.567 Ga to the widespread preservation of crustal rocks at 3.5 Ga), this virtual workshop will consist of presentations and discussion periods held over a period of three hours for each of two consecutive days, facilitated through an online multi-user video-conferencing system using Adobe Connect to be hosted by the technical facilities of the NAI (more specific details on this later). Themes to be presented/discussed include: * Solar System accretion * Moon-Forming Giant Impact * Late Heavy Bombardment * Formation and preservation of early crust: A cool early Earth? * Formation and capture of the hydrosphere * A reducing/anoxic/oxic atmosphere? * Origin(s) of life * Habitats of Earth’s earliest life The time and dates of the workshop are between 8-11 am Sydney, Australia time on May 21 and May 22, meaning the afternoon/evening of May 20/21 if you are in north America and Western Europe. More specifically, times of the workshop will be: 1 pm to 4 pm on the west coast of N. America (May 20, 21) 4 pm to 7 pm on east coast of N America (e.g., New York and Washington) (May 20, 21) 9-11 pm to 12-2 am for western Europe and Africa (May 20, 21 or May 21, 22 depending where you live) 5 am to 8 am for Western Australia 8 am to 11 am for Sydney and the east coast of Australia. At this stage, we would like to ask for an expression of interest to attend the workshop and whether you would be interested to present and/or lead a discussion panel on a specific theme. Reply to: Martin J. Van Kranendonk Chair, NAI Early Earth Focus Group E: martin.vankranendonk@unsw.edu.au Or: Co-chair, Andrew D. Czaja E: andrew.czaja@uc.edu

Last Call for the 2013 NASA Astrobiology Program Minority Institution Research Support Program

Do you have a colleague at a minority serving institution (MSI) with whom you would like to work with more closely? Do you have a current Astrobiology Program project and would like to host a faculty member from a MSI? The Astrobiology Program Minority Institution Research Support (MIRS) program, administered by the United Negro College Fund Special Programs Corporation, provides funded opportunities for researchers from minority serving institutions to initiate partnerships with researchers in the field of astrobiology. Past MIRS Scholars have worked with researchers at UCLA, NASA Ames, NASA Goddard, the University of Hawaii, JPL, the University of Wisconsin and Portland State University. The deadline for the 2013 MIRS Program applications is March 29, 2013. Please visit this site or contact Jacquelyn Madry-Taylor, jacquelyn.taylor@uncfsp.org or Melissa Kirven-Brooks, Melissa.kirven@nasa.gov for more information.