{"123841":{"#nid":"123841","#data":{"type":"news","title":"AbSciCon 2012 \u201cExploring Life: Past and Present, Near and Far\u201d Hosted at Georgia Tech","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EApril 13, 2012 \u003C\/em\u003E\u2013 Georgia Institute of Technology is hosting the fifth biennial Astrobiology Science Conference (AbSciCon), April 16-20 at the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.gatechhotel.com\/\u0022\u003EGeorgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;in Atlanta. Loren Williams, Ph.D., professor, School of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Eric Gaucher, Ph.D., associate professor, School of Biology at Georgia Tech are the co-chairs of the conference.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAbSciCon attracts a community of scientists working in the multidisciplinary field of astrobiology \u2013 the study of the origin, evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe \u2013 and highlights research supported by \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/astrobiology.nasa.gov\/\u0022\u003ENASA\u0027s Astrobiology Program.\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ENASA\u2019s Astrobiology program addresses three fundamental questions: How does life begin and evolve? Is there life beyond Earth and, if so, how can we detect it? What is the future of life on Earth and in the universe? \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIn striving to answer these questions and improve understanding of biological, planetary, cosmic phenomena and relationships among them, experts will discuss astrobiology research to help advance laboratory and field research into the origins and early evolution of life on Earth and studies of the potential for life to adapt to challenges on Earth and in space.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EA record number of abstracts (more than 800) were accepted for this meeting, and \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/abscicon2012.arc.nasa.gov\/scientific-program\/\u0022\u003Ethe scientific program\u003C\/a\u003E is packed with talks on current research. Among hot topics on the AbSciCon 2012 agenda are Mars exploration and the Mars Science Laboratory mission, current research on extrasolar planet habitability and latest results from analyses of extraterrestrial materials such as meteorites and comet dust samples. All plenary sessions and four selected technical sessions will be webcast live.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EOne highlight of the conference will be the final round of the NASA Astrobiology Program\u2019s first annual \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/astrobiologyfamelab.arc.nasa.gov\/\u0022\u003EFamelab Astrobiology\u003C\/a\u003E science communication competition, April 16 at 7 pm.\u0026nbsp; Nichelle Nichols, known for her portrayal of Lt. Uhura in the original \u201cStar Trek\u201d television series, will be hosting this public event which also will be webcast live. Other highlights include a welcome reception at the Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience at Georgia Tech on Sunday April 15, 5-7 p.m., and conference dinner at the Georgia Aquarium on Wednesday April 18, 5-9 p.m.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Georgia Tech is hosting the fifth biennial Astrobiology Science Conference, April 16-20 at the Georgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology is hosting the fifth biennial Astrobiology Science Conference (AbSciCon), April 16-20 at the Georgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center. 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.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Georgia Tech is hosting the fifth biennial Astrobiology Science Conference, April 16-20 at the Georgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center"}],"uid":"27224","created_gmt":"2012-04-12 21:43:12","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:12:00","author":"Megan McDevitt","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2012-04-13T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2012-04-13T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"123851":{"id":"123851","type":"image","title":"Astrobiology","body":null,"created":"1449178593","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:36:33","changed":"1475894746","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:45:46","alt":"Astrobiology","file":{"fid":"194450","name":"astrobiology.3.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/astrobiology.3_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/astrobiology.3_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":9402,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/astrobiology.3_0.jpg?itok=pdA7QQgk"}}},"media_ids":["123851"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/connect.arc.nasa.gov\/abscicon2012\/","title":"View Live Webcast"},{"url":"internal:\/!\/AbSciCon12","title":"Twitter"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AbSciCon2012","title":"Facebook"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.ibb.gatech.edu\/","title":"Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"722","name":"Astrobiology"},{"id":"5079","name":"Eric Gaucher"},{"id":"10720","name":"Loren Williams"},{"id":"408","name":"NASA"},{"id":"10722","name":"RiboEvo"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:megan.mcdevitt@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EMegan Graziano McDevitt\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EMarketing Communications Director\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering \u0026amp; Bioscience\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-385-7001\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:libillin@gwu.edu\u0022\u003ELinda Billings\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESchool of Media and Public Affairs\u003Cbr \/\u003EGeorge Washington University \u003Cbr \/\u003EChair, AbSciCon 2012 Communications Committee\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["mcdevitt@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}