People
For individual contact information of any BMSIS researcher, please email info@bmsis.org.
Zach Adam
Education
Ph.D. Earth Sciences (Montana State University 2014)
Research
micropaleontology · Precambrian evolution · complexity · origins of life · ECLSS
Location
Boston, Massachusetts
Rika Anderson
Education
Ph.D. Oceanography & Astrobiology (University of Washington 2013)
Research
astrobiology · microbial evolution · microbial ecology · origin of life · science education
Location
Northfield, Minnesota
Daniel Angerhausen
Education
Ph.D. Astronomy & Astrophysics (University of Stuttgart 2011)
Research
exoplanets · astrobiology · airborne astronomy · mission design · science communication
Location
Bern, Switzerland
Dimitra Atri
Education
Ph.D. Physics (University of Kansas 2011)
Research
exoplanets · space weather · cosmic rays · astrobiology · habitability
Location
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Arsev Aydinoglu
Education
Ph.D. Communication & Information Science (University of Tennessee 2011)
Research
interdisciplinary studies · origin of life · science communication · research data management · astrobiology
Location
Ankara, Turkey
Armando Azua-Bustos
Education
Ph.D. Molecular Genetics & Microbiology (Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile 2013)
Research
astrobiology · space research · desert microbial ecology · extreme environments · science communication · water and life · shadow biosphere
Location
Santiago, Chile
Laurie Barge
Education
Ph.D. Geological Sciences (University of Southern California 2009)
Research
origin of life · prebiotic chemistry · geochemical energetics · electrochemistry · self-organizing structures
Location
Pasadena, California
Anamaria Berea
Education
Ph.D. Economics (Academy of Economic Studies, Romania 2010); Ph.D. Computational Social Sciences (George Mason University 2012)
Research
complex systems · economics · data science · biosignatures · technosignatures · astrobiology
Jennifer Blank
Education
Ph.D. Geochemistry (California Institute of Technology 1993)
Research
Mars Curiosity mission · biogeochemistry · prebiotic chemistry · experimental petrology and fluid geochemistry · stable isotope geochemistry
Location
Mountain View, California
Chris Butch
Education
Ph.D. Chemical Engineering (Georgia Institute of Technology 2014)
Research
Nucleic Acids · Biochemistry · Prebiotic Chemistry · Drug Design · Machine Learning
Location
Atlanta, Georgia
Meg Cheng-Campbell
Education
M.S. Bioengineering (Santa Clara University 2018)
Research
stem cell biology · bioengineering · science communication · education
Location
Mountain View, California
Mark Claire
Education
Ph.D. Astronomy & Astrobiology (University of Washington 2008)
Research
atmospheric chemistry · science policy · science education · biogeochemistry · planetary habitability
Location
St. Andrews, U.K.
Henderson (Jim) Cleaves
Education
Ph.D. Chemistry & Biochemistry (University of California San Diego 2001)
Research
origins of life · prebiotic chemistry · astrobiology · primitive self-replicating molecules · organic synthesis
Location
Washington, D.C.
Julia DeMarines
Education
M.S. Space Studies (International Space University 2011)
Research
astrobiology · biosignatures · Titan · science communication · astrobiology education
Location
Oakland, California
Ram Gandhiraman
Education
Ph.D. Materials Engineering (Dublin City University 2007)
Research
biointerphases · planetary protection · life search instrumentation · microbial decontamination · materials science
Location
San Jose, California
Aaron Goldman
Education
Ph.D. Microbiology (University of Washington 2010)
Research
computational biology · astrobiology · bioinformatics · science education · philosophy of science
Location
Oberlin, Ohio
Jacob Haqq-Misra
Education
Ph.D. Meteorology & Astrobiology (Pennsylvania State University 2010)
Research
planetary habitability · atmospheric dynamics · space settlement · SETI · environmental ethics
Location
Clayton, Delaware
Craig Hardgrove
Education
Ph.D. Geology (University of Tennessee 2011)
Research
Mars rover instrumentation · geomorphology · spectroscopy · geochemistry · commercial/academic partnerships
Location
Phoenix, Arizona
Heshan “Grasshopper” Illangkoon
Education
Ph.D. Biochemistry (University of Florida 2010)
Research
synthetic biology · organic chemistry · molecular evolution · prebiotic chemistry · astrobiology education
Location
Gainesville, Florida
Tony Z. Jia
Education
Ph.D. Chemistry (Harvard University 2016)
Research
Prebiotic Chemistry · Astrobiology · DNA/RNA Sequencing · Nanomaterials/Self-Assembly · Membraneless Compartments
Location
Tokyo, Japan
Betul Kacar
Education
Ph.D. Biomolecular Chemistry (Emory University 2010)
Research
experimental evolution · protein networks · molecular resurrection · systems biology · complex life
Location
Phoenix, AZ
Afshin Khan
Education
Ph.D. Environmental Science (Washington State University 2017)
Research
astrobiology · geomicrobiology · Earth and life system science
Location
Pullman, Washington
Mike Kubo
Education
B.S. Chemistry (University of California 1999)
Research
astrobiology · subsurface biosphere · science education · analytical chemistry · isotopic analysis
Location
Mountain View, California
Priscila Lange
Education
Ph.D. Earth Sciences (University of Oxford 2017)
Research
oceanography · phytoplankton ecology · remote sensing · NASA-PACE mission · science communication
Location
Laurel, Maryland
Graham Lau
Education
Ph.D Geological Sciences & Astrobiology (University of Colorado Boulder 2017)
Research
astrobiology · geochemistry · Earth system science · philosophy of science fiction · communication studies
Location
Boulder, Colorado
Mike Lee
Education
Ph.D. Biology (University of Southern California 2018)
Research
bioinformatics · microbial ecology · microbial evolution · deep biosphere · space biology
Location
Mountain View, California
Ivan Paulino Lima
Education
Ph.D. Biophysics (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro 2010)
Research
astrobiology · extremophiles · microbiology · synthetic biology · science communication
Location
Mountain View, California
Rafael Loureiro
Education
Ph.D. Botany (National School of Tropical Botany at Rio de Janeiro 2013)
Research
applied plant physiology · space horticulture · plant pigment and planetary co-evolution · science policy
Location
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Omer Markovitch
Education
Ph.D. Chemistry (Weizmann Institute 2014)
Research
origin of life · prebiotic evolution · systems chemistry · water structure and dynamics · computational chemistry
Location
Groningen, The Netherlands
Jeff Marlow
Education
Ph.D. Geobiology (CalTech 2015)
Research
microbiology · metabolic activity · methane seeps · proteomics · extremophiles
Location
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Shawn McGlynn
Education
Ph.D. Biochemistry (Montana State University 2010)
Research
sulfur isotope fractionation · microbial ecophysiology · cell interfaces and electron transfer · metalloproteins · origin of life
Location
Tokyo, Japan
Haritina Mogosanu
Education
M.S. International Security (Massey University 2016) & M.S. Environmental Management (USAMVB 1997)
Research
astrobiology education · planetary protection · international security · cultural astronomy · science communication
Location
Wellington, New Zealand
Rakesh Mogul
Education
Ph.D. Biological & Organic Chemistry (UC Davis 1998)
Research
extremotolerance · planetary protection · spacecraft-associated microorganisms · biochemistry · lipoxygenase structure & function
Location
Pomona, California
Brendan Mullan
Education
Ph.D. Astronomy & Astrophysics (Pennsylvania State University 2013)
Research
STEM education · Fermi Paradox · extragalactic astronomy · astrophysics · astrobiology
Location
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Preeti Nema
Education
Ph.D. Microbiology (University of Pune 2013)
Research
abiotic stress responses · extremophiles · origin of life · astrobiology · science popularization
Location
Pune, India
Mrina Nikrad
Education
Ph.D. Marine Science (University of Delaware 2013)
Research
extremophile metabolism · microbial ecology · origin of life · human space exploration · science communication
Location
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Siddharth Pandey
Education
M.S. Space Systems Engineering (Delft University of Technology 2014)
Research
Mars exploration · sample acquisition · in-situ resource utilization · mission design · aerospace engineering
Location
Canberra, Australia
Scott Perl
Education
Ph.D. Geological Sciences and Geobiology (University of Southern California, 2019)
Research
Astrobiology · Planetary Geology · Geobiology · Mineralogy · Habitability
Location
Pasadena, California, USA
Carl Pilcher
Education
Ph.D. Chemistry (Massachusetts Institute of Technology 1973) & Masters of Public Affairs (Princeton University 1987)
Research
astrobiology · cancer
Location
Sebastopol, California
Milena Popovic
Education
Ph.D. Biochemistry (Florida State University 2012)
Research
astrobiology · origin of life · RNA world · in vitro evolution · RNA structure and function
Location
Mountain View, California
Andro Rios
Education
Ph.D. Chemistry (University of California San Diego 2012)
Research
organic chemistry · prebiotic chemistry · astrobiology · chemical education · metabolic diseases
Location
Mountain View, California
Daniella Scalice
Education
B.S. Mollecular, Cell & Developmental Biology (University of California Santa Cruz 1994)
Research
astrobiology · STEM outreach · cross-cultural education · science communication
Location
Annapolis, Maryland
Edward “Eddie” Schwieterman
Education
Ph.D. Astronomy & Astrobiology (University of Washington 2016)
Research
Astrobiology · Exoplanets · Biosignatures · Spectral Modeling · Science Outreach
Location
Riverside, California
Lauren Seyler
Education
Ph.D. Biological Oceanography (Rutgers University 2015)
Research
microbial ecology · origin of life · exobiology · biological oceanography · geomicrobiology
Location
Woods Hole, Massachusetts
Svetlana Shkolyar
Education
Ph.D. Geological Sciences (Arizona State Unviersity 2016)
Research
astrobiology · Mars · rover missions · Raman spectroscopy · outreach & communication
Location
Washington, D.C.
Sanjoy Som
Education
Ph.D. Planetary Sciences & Astrobiology (University of Washington 2010) and Stanford Ignite (Stanford Graduate School of Business 2012)
Research
Evolution of air pressure · Co-evolution of Earth and life · Water-rock interactions · Life independent of light · Public outreach
Location
Mountain View, California
Parag Vaishampayan
Education
Ph.D. Microbiology (University of Pune 2005)
Research
astrobiology · extreme environments · planetary protection · bioinformatics · microbial diversity
Location
Pasadena, California
Sara Imari Walker
Education
Ph.D. Physics & Astronomy (Dartmouth College 2010)
Research
origins of life · cosmology · computer modeling · complex systems · astrobiology education
Location
Phoenix, Arizona