Keck Institute for Space Studies - Short Course

The Search for Non-Aqueous Life

The Keck Institute for Space Studies (KISS) invites all interested researchers and students to attend the following short course: "The Search for Non-Aqueous Life".

The search for solar system and extrasolar environments containing liquid water is well underway, and with some success (Europa, Enceladus). But what about environments in which organics and energy are available, and the liquid medium is non-aqueous? Are such environments of interest as hosts for very exotic kinds of biochemistries?

This short course will review one such well-known environment and explore the techniques by which one might search for a kind of life whose basic biochemistry is poorly or not known.

Speakers Include:

Dr. Christophe Sotin (JPL) – Planetary Environments Where Non-Aqueous Liquids May be Present
Prof. Jonathan Lunine (Cornell) – Titan: The Only Non-Aqueous Bodies of Liquid in the Solar System
Professor Nicholas Hud (Georgia Tech) – Is Water Necessary for the Origin and Evolution of an RNA World?
Dr. Robert Hodyss (JPL) and Prof. Jack Beauchamp (Caltech) – Escape from Waterworld: Chemistry in Hydrocarbons and Supercritical Carbon Dioxide

There is no fee to attend, no registration is required. Seating is limited and available on a first-come, first served basis. 8:00 am coffee and an informal lunch is provided for all attendees.

Event Sponsors:

Keck Institute for Space Studies (KISS) - More events from this Sponsor

For more information, please contact Michele Judd by phone at 626-395-6630 or by email at [email protected] or visit KISS Short Course: The Search for Non-Aqueous Life.