Our newest Visiting Scholar is Hamed Chok, who will be working with Dr. Fathi Karouia. Hamed is a mathematical scientist and applied artificial intelligence researcher with 15+ years of experience. He holds a Master’s degree in computer science. His research made many contributions in the oil & gas service industry particularly in the development of engineering/scientific answer products related to wireline (sensor) instrument technologies as well as associated geoscience applications spanning various domains such as geophysics, geochemistry, and geomechanics, among […]

Hi! My name is Meri Herrero and I’m a 4th year PhD student working in prebiotic chemistry. I grew up in Barcelona, Spain, and I took a double BS on Physics and Chemistry at the Autonomous University of Catalonia. After that, I enrolled in an MS program in Astrophysics and it was there that I was properly introduced to Astrobiology. I fell in love with it and I knew right away that I wanted to continue my career on that […]

By Bhargabi Banerjee Blue Marble Space Institute of Science (BMSIS) has been a turning point that introduced me to the Young Science Program (YSP). Excited by its potential to broaden my prospects academically and professionally, I applied eagerly, despite having no prior experience. Unfortunately, I faced rejection that year. However, rather than viewing it as a setback, I saw it as an opportunity to develop my skills. I waited for the application window to open next year and wasted no […]

Hosted at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY Proposal Writing Retreat (PWR): June 7th – 10th, 2024, Adirondacks Conference: June 10th – 14th, 2024 Applications are now open until April 5th! The Astrobiology Graduate Conference (AbGradCon) is organized by graduate students for early career scientists who study the complex and diverse topics that astrobiology encompasses. For over two decades, this conference has been an integral part of the astrobiology community of graduate students and postdocs by fostering small group discussions, scientific presentations, and social […]

We’re excited to welcome Aarti Balana, who will be working with Dr. Fathi Karouia. Here is a message from Aarti herself: I am Aartii Balana, and I am an explorer and always strive to be a better version of myself. I recently got the opportunity of Visiting Scholar at BMSIS under the guidance of Dr. Fathi Karouia. I have 4 to 5 years of working experience in Hong Kong, as a Data Scientist where my main focus was on training […]

Joining us in February of 2024 is Crystal Han, who will be working through NASA Ames with Drs. Sylvain Costes and Lauren Sanders. Crystal graduated from UCLA with a Bachelor’s degree in Biology and minor in Bioinformatics. She then received a Master’s degree in Bioinformatics from San Jose State University in December 2021. Her research project involved building data pipelines to perform differential gene expression analyses. Prior to joining GeneLab, Crystal worked as a research data analyst in Dr. Frank […]

Rajat Bhushan Gupta (RBG) is a multifaceted professional with a diverse background in electronics engineering, materials science, nanotechnology, data science, and astrobiology. Born on December 22, 1989, in New Delhi, India, his journey in the world of science and technology has been marked by a relentless pursuit of knowledge and a thirst for innovation. RBG’s academic journey began at Visvesvaraya Technological University (India), where he earned his bachelor’s degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering in 2012. His fascination with pushing […]

We’re excited to have Dr. Barbara Novak joining BMSIS as a Staff Scientist through the NASA GeneLab at Ames Research Center. Dr. Novak will be working with Drs. Sylvain Costes (NASA Ames) and Lauren Sanders (BMSIS). Dr. Novak is an experienced bioinformatician with over 15 years of industry experience providing bioinformatics support for genomic assay product development. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Biology from the California Institute of Technology, but quickly decided that she’d rather solve computational challenges. Barbara […]

By Jenna Cammerino We’ve all wished upon stars or maybe even shouted at the moon, but sometimes it just feels like the Universe never answers our calls. Well, as it turns out, the Universe is actually singing to us. In late June this past summer, a set of papers was put out by NANOGrav consisting of over 15 years worth of data collection describing the very phenomenon. NANOGrav stands for the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves and it […]

The Lost City Hydrothermal Field is a unique vent field located in the Atlantic Ocean along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. This vent system is the only one discovered so far on Earth to have been created through a process called “serpentinization”, a chemical and geological interaction between Earth’s mantle and seawater. Hydrogen is produced here as a by-product of the reaction, which fuels the generation of compounds that are considered the precursors of DNA and could possibly give clues as to […]