CPSH Seminar Series: Andy Czaja, University of Cincinnati
January 17, 2024
January 22, 2024 at 1:00pm CT
Speaker: Andy Czaja, Associate Professor, Department of Geosciences, University of Cincinnati
Host: Eric Hiatt
Title: Earth’s Ancient Biosphere: An Analogue For Life In the Universe
Abstract: Life on Earth dates back more than 3.5 billion years. Although the rock record is sparse that far back, we know a good deal about early life. This talk will review what we know, what we don’t know, and current directions in the field and my lab to study early life and the coevolution of life and the planet. I will also discuss how we use the ancient Earth as an analogue for alien biospheres we may find elsewhere in our solar system (and beyond?), with particular emphasis on Mars, the Mars 2020 mission, and Mars Sample Return.
Biography:
- B.S. from the University of Connecticut in 1998 in Environmental Sciences and Biology
- Ph.D. from UCLA in Geology and Paleobiology in 2006. Thesis title: “Characterization of the geochemical alteration of permineralized fossil plants based on macromolecular structure and composition”
- Postdoc in iron isotope geochemistry from 2008 to 2012, using Fe isotopes to study ancient biospheres
- 2012–2018: Assistant Professor, Paleobiology, Biogeochemistry, and Astrobiology. University of Cincinnati, Dept. of Geology
- 2018–present: Associate Professor, Paleobiology, Biogeochemistry, and Astrobiology. University of Cincinnati, Dept. of Geology
- 2019–present: Member of the Mars 2020 science team as a Returned Sample Science Participating Scientist.
- 2022–present: Member of the Mars Sample Return (MSR) Campaign Science Group
