April 10, 2012 – Georgia Institute of Technology will host the Famelab Astrobiology Finals, Monday April 16, 7-9 p.m., in the Grand Ballroom of the Georgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center. The event is free and open to the public.

Famelab Astrobiology is a science communication competition intended to encourage up-and-coming new scientists to hone their skills in communicating complex scientific concepts to public audiences.

Nichelle Nichols, known for her portrayal of Lt. Uhura in the original “Star Trek” television series, will host this event, which also will be webcast live and broadcast on NASA TV.

FameLab Astrobiology finalists will have three minutes to explain a science topic of their choice to a public audience – no slides, no charts, and only props they can carry onstage. A panel of experts in science and science communication will judge the competition.

Since January more than 70 early-career astrobiologists have competed in Famelab Astrobiology preliminary competitions in Houston, Denver, Washington, D.C., and online. The 10 finalists, from all over the country, will compete in the Atlanta finals. The winner in Atlanta will compete in International FameLab’s final competition in the U.K. this summer.

The Atlanta finals are the culmination of the first annual Famelab Astrobiology competition, sponsored by NASA’s Astrobiology Program. Famelab Astrobiology, an offshoot of International FameLab, aims to provide experience and training in science communication to the next generation of astrobiologists.

The FameLab Astrobiology competition is being held in conjunction with AbSciCon 2012, an astrobiology science conference with over 750 attendees taking place on the campus of Georgia Tech.  Loren Williams, Ph.D., professor in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Eric Gaucher, Ph.D., associate professor from the School of Biology at Georgia Tech are the co-chairs of the conference.   The AbSciCon conference, held every two years, focuses on the multidisciplinary field of astrobiology – the study of the origin, evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe – and highlights research supported by NASA's Astrobiology Program.

 

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