NAI EC meeting 3/16/07
Members of the NAI Executive Council present:
|
Director |
Pilcher |
|
|
|
Deputy Director |
Goolish |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Team |
PI |
Representative |
Notes |
|
ARC |
|
DesMarais |
On phone |
|
CIW |
- |
|
|
|
CUB |
|
Mojzsis |
On phone |
|
GSFC |
Mumma |
|
|
|
IPTAI |
|
Droppo |
|
|
MBL |
Sogin |
|
On phone |
|
PSU |
|
Kasting |
|
|
SI |
Mancinelli |
|
|
|
UA |
Woolf |
|
|
|
UCB |
|
Dietrich |
|
|
UCLA |
- |
|
|
|
UH |
Meech |
|
On phone |
|
Affiliation/Institution |
Attendee |
|
NAI International Partner |
|
|
NAI Central |
Abe, Boldt, Dolci, Kirven-Brooks, Scalice |
|
NASA HQ |
|
|
NAI Team Members |
|
|
EPO Rep |
DeVore |
Carl Pilcher opened the meeting at 10 AM
A list of Focus Groups was proposed, incorporating comments from the last EC videocon. The Focus Groups should be deliberative, interdisciplinary, innovative and open to the astrobiology community. The strawman proposal was based on recent activity of the group, topics of strategic importance and incorporation of Collaborative Science Plan topics. The list consisted of: Virus, Evogenomics, Europa, Titan, Early/Ancient Earth, Mars, Lunar, Habitability and Astronomical Biosignatures, Microbial Ecosystems and Global Change, Subsurface Life and Protoplanetary Systems.
A suggestion was made, and supported, to combine Europa, Titan and Enceladus into one group, perhaps adding Charon, calling the group Icy Worlds, targeting science, not missions. A concern was raised that the communities are in competition, but that NAI can have a role in bringing the communities together to develop common strategies. Another challenge for the chair(s) to address is a loss of focus and the tendency to divide into groups.
The Habitability and Astronomical Biosignatures and the Planetary System Formation groups can be complementary, to capture the interests of both the astrochemists and the astronomers, with some people who would participate in both groups.
Pilcher requested recommendations for chairs of the groups.
At last month’s videocon a suggestion was made for the SOC to be 1/3 current NAI members, 1/3 former-NAI and 1/3 non-NAI astrobiology/exobiology scientists, and for two Co-Chairs, one NAI and one non-NAI, who is familiar with AbSciCon.
Background: For the first 3 – 4 years of the NAI there was no charter. Following the appointment of Bruce Runnegar, for legal reasons, a charter was required. The charter is currently under review again.
Discussion items included: simplifying and updating the charter to include current activities, identifying roles of the Director and Deputy Director, eliminating a limitation to the length of the PI in camera sessions, and clarification of the Director’s Science Council, a non-NAI group of scientists who may be assembled to advise the Director.
A committee is being formed. The preliminary schedule is for the committee to meet in April in Washington, DC, in May at Ames and in June at a location to be determined, with a report to be submitted in October. NAI Central is assembling data in response to the letter sent from Mary Cleave requesting the NRC review. The role of the teams in providing input to the committee is uncertain, but they may have the opportunity to meet with the committee during their site visits.
A new item has been added to the round-table discussion, asking for input on mission opportunities (such as the formation of science definition teams, upcoming agency workshops, etc) per Rocco's suggestion at the SIW workshop in Boulder.
MBL
Sogin is serving on a SDT for a Europa orbiting mission. The intent is to look for clear evidence of a sub-ice ocean, examine structure and circulation patterns. Sogin is writing an introduction for the SDT that he has offered to share, and solicits ideas from the NAI.
SETI
Selections for the NSF-sponsored Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program for the summer of 2007 are underway. One hundred and ten applications were received for the eleven spaces. This is an excellent way to encourage undergraduates who are considering astrobiology as a field of study. The next deadline for REU applications to the NSF will be in August or September.
The SETI team has revamped its website (http://nai.seti.org/) and welcomes comments.
PSU
Kasting reported that at the Exoplanet Task Force meeting a few weeks ago, David Charbinneau of Harvard proposed surveying nearby M Stars, looking for Earth sized planets by transits or radial velocity, then follow up on JWST to take spectra of the planets.
UA
UA is taking over Biosphere 2 in July. As a result of Stardust, there is renewed interest in methylamine and ethylamine. Methylamine is seen in dense galactic clouds. Ethylamine does not currently have a radio spectrum to check whether it is present. The UA team expects a spectrum and answer soon.
The team has submitted a paper to Nature on how N gets into systems. In a study of an oxygen-rich, red giant star, most of the nitrogen is coming out in the form of hydrogen cyanide.
IPTAI
Droppo reported that two proposals were submitted to the NAI DDF from the team.
UH
The American Astronomical Society spring meeting will be in Hawaii from 5/28 – 31. There will be three special topic sessions focused on astrobiology: Astrophysical Ionizing Radiation Sources and their Impact on Life, Water in Habitable Planetary Systems and Hot-Earths: Formation, Detection, and Structure. The Early Registration ends on the 18th. NAI is co-sponsoring the Hot Earths session.
A new UHNAI faculty member gave a presentation last week on new results on the geomicrobiology of the Loihi seamount (which last erupted in 1996), southwest of the Big Island. In collaboration with the Iron Oxidation Microbial Observatory, sponsored by NSF, and working with many researchers funded by NAI, the UH team funded an instrument to examine the microprofile of redox gradients, which identified a gradient between iron oxidation and chemical oxidation in microbial mats in the region.
ARC
Educational Outreach - a new 2007 Yellowstone resources guide is under development.
A very successful AAAS meeting session was held, on The New Mars, Habitability of a Neighbor World, with a press briefing and an NPR broadcast with DesMarais (Ames), Tori Hoehler (Ames) and Michael Carr, of the USGS.
Last year’s AbSciCon session on Follow the Energy, will lead to a special issue of Astrobobiology, with articles by Tori Hoehler and Jan Amender, including the topic of energetics. The issue will come out within the next few months.
CUB
Mojzsis reported a very productive response to the DDF call, with a frenzy of activity amongst the CUB team, and the formation of new collaborations.
The Pace lab has entered a joint venture with the DOE’s Joint Genome Institute, to undertake a molecular census of microorganisms from microbial mat communities from the Guerrero Negro hypersaline mats in Mexico, expanding by at least 50% the number of documented ribosomal RNA gene sequences and have identified tens of thousands of novel microbes.
The International Goldschmidt Geochemistry Conference has many astrobiology topics: Water in Early Earth, Microbial Mediated Processes governing the Redux Cycling of Metals.
The CUB team contributed a chapter on the role of sulfur in the Early Earth for a book that is to be published in August on the Geology and Geochemistry of the Oldest Rocks, by Elsevier.
GSFC
The Advanced Complex Organics Lab (Dworkin/Glavin) has received a new istotope ratio mass spectrometer, completing the suite of equipment for the lab. Jen Eigenbrode has joined the group from Carnegie, and Jamie Elsila, from Ames, is about to arrive. Jen Stern plans to transfer to complete her NPP, working with Jason Dworkin, enhancing the collaboration with Ames, and completing the staffing of the lab.
The group has accepted 9, rather than 6, summer undergraduate interns, following a larger than expected applicant pool.
At the upcoming Lunar and Planetary Science Conference the group is presenting more than 12 papers.
The Goddard group has won Director’s Discretionary time at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) Very Large Telescope in Chile which is capable of high resolving power, sampling the spectrum at 200,000 in the near infrared and delivering a true resolving power of about 75,000, and works behind AO in both L and M bands. They are the first US team to get access to the facility, and also won time to image discs and comets. Mumma gave a talk on the composition of comets at the 2007 ESO workshop, Observing Planetary Systems, in Chile, and offered to share the Powerpoint presentation with those interested.
A program aired on the National Geographic Channel last week on comets and the delivery of water and organics to new planets. A number of GSFC team members participated in the program.
Pilcher reminded the group of the upcoming Director’s Seminar on Monday, March 26 by Drake Deming.
The meeting was adjourned at 11:30AM.