Mar 21, 2016
Feature Guest: Lynn Rothschild
Are we alone in the universe? Think about it. Whatever the answer, it is one of the most profound and enduring questions humans have ever asked. The fact that we are on the cusp of being able to answer it is incredible. But the challenge is still immense, for we’re not even sure exactly how to define life.
And yet there’s no one better
equipped to tackle this mystery then an astrobiologist who is
presenting working to recreate life in the lab. Today we’re joined
at The Star Spot by senior NASA astrobiology Professor Lynn
Rothschild who will update us on our search for life in space and
our new efforts to build synthetic biology here on
Earth.
Today’s episode of The Star Spot is the second in a three part
series featuring interviews with the keynote speakers at the 13th
annual Expanding Canada’s Frontier’s symposium, this year on the
topic Astronomyths: Science or Fiction?, looking at cosmology and
alien life, hosted at the University of Toronto this past January.
In our next episode we will speak with Brian Trent, award-winning
science fiction author and futurist.
The Star Spot Hits the Airwaves!
Coming soon, your favourite astronomy program will be travelling through space… well through the airwaves at least. The Star Spot, broadcast on CJRU, The Scope at Ryerson, will be on the air at 1280AM on the radio dial starting in April. You’ll be able to catch the latest episode every Sunday at 8PM and Tuesday at 6PM Eastern Time. Visithttp://www.thescopeatryerson.ca/ to learn more about our partner radio station.
Current in Space
Anuj asks how today's stromatolites can tell us about
the habitability of the ancient Earth. And Tony bring news
of cutting edge technology that promises advances in the
imaging of planets beyond our solar system.
About Our Guest
Professor Lynn J. Rothschild is
senior scientist at NASA’s Ames Research Center and Adjunct
Professor at Brown University and the University of California
Santa Cruz.
Professor Rothschild is a world authority in the field
of astrobiology. She founded and ran the first three Astrobiology
Science Conferences, was the founding co-editor of the
International Journal of Astrobiology, and is the former director
of the Astrobiology Strategic Analysis and Support Office for
NASA.
A well-rounded astrobiologist, Dr. Rothschild works on various
models for the origin of life, studies the interaction of
environment on biology, explores life in extreme environments and
looks for signs of life on other worlds.
Recently she has been pioneering the new field of synthetic
biology. Her award-winning iGem team is investigating the use of
synthetic biology to accomplish space exploration missions,
including the future human settlement of Mars.
Professor Rothschild has
received the Isaac Asimov Award from the American Humanist
Association and the Horace Mann Award from Brown University. She is
a Fellow of the Linnean Society of London, The California Academy
of Sciences and the Explorer’s Club.