Astrobiology

The Interdisciplinary Search for Life in the Cosmos

Learn how scientists work to detect and characterize life on the early Earth, in extreme environments, and in extraterrestrial settings.

Workshop Dates

July 23-27, 2012
For Educators Grades 5-9

Workshop Agenda

NOTE: Agenda is tentative and subject to change.
Astrobiology Workshop Draft Agenda

Workshop Overview

This workshop is designed to introduce teachers to current research in the field of astrobiology and to help teachers use this exciting topic to engage students in scientific inquiry.

Participants in the workshop will create a definition for a living organism, collect data on an anerobic environment thriving with microbes, and debate the rarity of our planet as they learn about the co-evolution of Earth and life.

Teachers will explore how our understanding of the requirements of life has changed over the past 30 years, and learn how current research is revealing an ever-greater diversity of life.

Scientists will share the latest research about the rise of oxygen on Earth, extreme conditions in which life exists, and plans for NASA's search for life in the universe.

Workshop Extras

Teachers will take home NASA posters, books, lithos, and education guides related to the various topics and hands-on activities presented.

National Science Education Standards

Science as Inquiry

Grades 5-12

• Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry, Understandings about scientific inquiry

Life Science

Grades 5-8

• Structure and function in living systems
• Diversity and adaptations of organisms

Grades 9-12

• Biological evolution

Earth and Space Science

Grades 5-8

• Earth's History

Grades 9-12

• Origin and evolution of the earth system and of the universe

History and Nature of Science

Grades 5-8

• History of Science
• Science as a human endeavor
• Nature of Science

Grades 9-12

• Nature of Science knowledge
• Science as a human endeavor
• Historical perspectives

Pennsylvania Standards for Science and Technology with Assessment Anchors

Unifying Themes

• Grade 7: 3.1.7.C: Identify patterns as repeated processes or recurring elements in science and technology.
• Grade 10: 3.1.10.C: Identify patterns as repeated processes or recurring elements in science and technology, 3.1.10.E: Describe patterns of change in nature, physical, and man-made systems.

Inquiry and Design

• Grade 7: 3.2.7.A: Explain and apply scientific and technological knowledge, 3.2.7.B: Apply process knowledge to make and interpret observations, 3.2.7.C: Identify and use the elements of scientific inquiry to solve problems.
• Grade 10: 3.2.10.A: Apply knowledge and understanding about the nature of scientific and technological knowledge, 3.2.10.B: Apply process knowledge and organize scientific and technological phenomena in varied ways, 3.2.10.C: Apply the elements of scientific inquiry to solve problems.

Biological Sciences

• Grade 7: 3.3.7.A: Describe the similarities and differences that characterize diverse living things, 3.3.7.C: Know that every organism has a set of genetic instructions that determines its inherited traits, 3.3.7.D: Explain basic concepts of natural selection.
• Grade 10: 3.3.10.A: Explain the structural and functional similarities and differences found among living things, 3.3.10.C: Describe how genetic information is inherited and expressed, 3.3.10.D: Explain the mechanisms of the theory of evolution.

Environment and Ecology

• Grade 7: 4.7.7.B: Explain how species of living organisms adapt to their environment.
• Grade 10: 4.7.10.B: Explain how structure, function and behavior of plants and animals affect their ability to survive.

Instructors

Dr. Chris House

Professor in charge of the Astrobiology undergraduate minor and the Astrobiology undergraduate program at Penn State.

Participant in the Astrobiology graduate seminars at Penn State and at UCLA. Organized and chaired a session called "Genomics meets Geochemistry" at the 2001 Goldschmidt conference on Geochemistry.

Participant in a science lecture series for medical doctors at the Tarzana - Encino Medical Center - promoting science education to the general public.

Dr. Jim Kasting

Dr. Kasting is a professor at Penn State, where he holds joint appointments in the Departments of Geosciences and Meteorology. He received his undergraduate degree from Harvard University in Chemistry and Physics and did his Ph.D. at the University of Michigan in Atmospheric Sciences. Prior to coming to Penn State in 1988, he spent 7 years in the Space Science Division at NASA Ames Research Center.

His research focuses on the evolution of planetary atmospheres, particularly the question of why the atmospheres of Mars and Venus are so different from that of Earth. He is also interested in the question of whether habitable planets exist around other stars and how we might look for signatures of life by doing spectroscopy on their atmospheres.

Dr. Jean Brenchley

Dr. Brenchley is a professor of microbiology and biotechnology in the Eberly College of Science at Penn State.

Jean's research explores the fascinating microorganisms living in extreme habitats such as glacial ice and deep-sea sediment. Her researchers have discovered abundant microbial populations living in the cold, under high pressures, and with low amounts of oxygen and nutrients. In addition to numerous research publications, the findings on the lifestyles of these "small, cold, and hungry" cells have received worldwide press coverage.

Jean has received many awards, including the Tershak Teaching Award and has served as President of the American Society for Microbiology.

Dr. Mike Arthur

Dr. Arthur, a geochemist and sedimentary geologist, is Penn State professor of geosciences.

He is a past Department Head in Geosciences and is a recipient of the L.L. Sloss Medal in Sedimentary Geology (Geological Society of America), the Francis P. Shepard Medal for Marine Geology (Society for Sedimentary Geology, SEPM), the Wilson Awards for Research and Teaching in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, and is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Geological Society of America and American Geophysical Union.

His research interests include investigating the nature of climates and oceans of the past and the causes of past global change.

Dr. Sue Brantley

Dr. Brantley is a professor of geosciences at Penn State.

She investigates chemical, biological, and physical processes associated with the circulation of aqueous fluids in shallow hydrogeologic settings. Her investigations incorporate field and laboratory work, and theoretical modelling of observations.

Dr. Steinn Sigurdsson

Dr. Steinn Sigurdsson is an assistant professor in the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics at Penn State. He is also a member of the Center for Gravitational Wave Physics, a NSF-funded Physics Frontier Center.

Prior to his arrival at Penn State, he was a Research Fellow at the Institute of Astronomy and member of the King's College, Cambridge University, England.

His research interests include theoretical astrophysics, primarily gravitational physics, compact object dynamics and related issues.

Dr. Matthew Fantle

Dr. Fantle is an assistant professor of geosciences at Penn State. A graduate of Dartmouth College and University of California, Berkeley, Fantle's research interests include isotope geochemistry, global geochemical cycles, and paleoclimates.

Dr. Suvrath Mahadevan

Dr. Mahadevan is an assistant professor in astronomy whose research interests include extrasolar planets, precision radial velocity measurements, planetary dynamics and instrumentation.