Laurie Barge is a Caltech Postdoctoral Scholar at JPL with the NASA Astrobiology Institute Icy Worlds team. Her current research focuses on simulating prebiotic chemistry and the emergence of metabolism at hydrothermal vents (a process that could occur not just on the early Earth but on other wet rocky planets like Europa or Enceladus). Some current projects she is working on include: abiotic formation of pyrophosphate as an energy carrier molecule in hydrothermal systems; formation of self-assembling chemical garden structures as potential energy traps; and electrochemical studies of catalytic inorganic membranes and their ability to function as “proto-enzymes”. Laurie received her Ph.D. in Geological Sciences from the University of Southern California in 2009, where she studied self-organizing chemical systems. Her thesis work focused on the ability of organics to induce periodic patterning in inorganic precipitates, self-organizing mineral precipitates in geology, and formation of biological morphologies in reaction-diffusion systems.

Ian Foster is a 3rd year Ph.D. student in the Department of Earth and Space Sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles where he studies the paleobiology of hypersaline Systems. His previous studies include a B.Sc. in Geology and Biology, as well as a M.Sc. in geomicrobiology from the University of Western Ontario where his research focused on the in-situ detection of halophilic organisms in evaporitic environments using non-destructive techniques such as Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy (CLSM) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). His current research is focused on the detection and identification of fossilized microorganisms in unaltered gypsum crystals from both ancient and modern evaporitic environments using CLSM, Raman spectroscopy, and conventional light microscopy with application to the search for life on Mars.

Born in Montreal with Sri Lankan heritage, Heshan Illangkoon (better known to his friends as “Grasshopper”) now resides in Florida and comes from a diverse cultural background. Grasshopper identifies himself as an Astrobiologist, Synthetic Biologist and Organic Chemist. His research interests include but are by no means limited to the origin of genetic material as well as the manipulation and re-engineering of DNA and RNA. His most notable research involved the prebiotic synthesis of carbohydrates from molecules present in interstellar gas clouds. Grasshopper also has a heavy interest in politics, science policy, public service and outreach. Following his Ph.D. Grasshopper traveled to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. There he co-founded the non-profit NGO Investours Africa (www.investours.org). Investours ties together the development power of microfinance with cultural tourism to provide micro-finance loans at 0% interest to the poorest of the poor. While there he was appointed visiting lecturer at the Open University of Tanzania and professor at the University of Dar es Salaam. Grasshopper is also a member of the board and consultant at Nafasi (www.nafasi.org), an non-governmental organization (NGO) which supports a nightly free English & Science classroom for impoverished Makonde woodcarvers, free tutoring to local secondary students, and is currently being developed as a local liaison for scientific & education ventures in archaeology and astrobiology. Grasshopper is also a member of the Blue Marble Space Institute of Science (www.bmsis.org) and is a co-founder of the Astrobiology eMentoring site S.A.G.A.N. (www.SAGANet.org – Sign-up Today!)

I am a Postdoc at JPL on a NASA Postdoctoral Program Fellowship. My research interests focus on the interaction of microbes with the chemistry and climate of earth and other potentially habitable places. In the Ponce group I am investigating the ability of life to survive extreme climates here on earth by determining the viability of bacterial spores from environmental samples such as ice cores and desert soil. In addition I am helping to improve and automate the bacterial spore viability assay developed in this lab. This assay can be used to assess sterility for both biodefense and spacecraft clean room purposes. In 2010 I received my Ph.D. in Chemistry from Caltech. In the labs of Professor Mitchio Okumura/Dr. Stan Sander of Caltech/JPL, I studied the chemical composition of the atmosphere by measuring the kinetics and thermodynamics of peroxy radical reactions.

Emma Marcucci is a fourth year Ph.D. student at the University of Colorado at Boulder. During a summer undergraduate course on astrobiology, she discovered it combined her interests of space and earth science, motivating her transition into planetary science and astrobiology after obtaining her B.S. in physics and astronomy. Her Ph.D. research focuses on understanding acid-sulfate volcanic systems relevant to early Mars through a series of experiments and models. Emma joined the RFG and AbGradCon 2012 organizing committee after attending and learning so much from the 2011 set, the first of either she had been to.

Becky McCauley is in her 4th year of pursuing her Ph.D. in Astrobiology and Geosciences at the Pennsylvania State University. She graduated West Virginia University with B.A.s in Biology and Chemistry. Her current research focuses on cave microbial communities and the energy limitations associated with anoxic, light-limited environments. She hopes to continue astrobiology-related research after obtaining her Ph.D. with an emphasis on microbial utilization in terraforming as well as long-term space flight. In her spare time, she performs improvisational comedy and represents the Graduate Student Association (GSA) on the Faculty Senate.

I am a Research Scientist Associate at the Institute for Geophysics, U.T. Austin, studying planetary ices and habitability. Since receiving my phd from UCLA in 2005 where my thesis focused on observations and modeling of asteroids, I have spent the majority of my time working on Europa and other icy moons, as well as their analogues in Antarctica and the Arctic. I am primarily interested in how planetary environments become habitable and provide niches for life. To this end I focus on remote sensing and in situ techniques that can help us understand how these environments evolve and how they can be characterized from spacecraft. I currently use imaging, models, ice pentrating radar, and soon submersibles to accomplish my work. I'm excited to host everyone at AbGradCon in my favorite city, Los Angeles!

Andrew is an astrophysics Ph.D. candidate at the University of California, Berkeley. His research activities focus on designing instruments and experiments to detect rare and novel radio phenomena.