These oceans worlds of the outer solar system have likely persisted for much of the history of the solar system. As a result they are highly compelling targets in our search for life beyond Earth.
Kevin Hand will explain why we think we know these oceans exist and what we know about the conditions on these worlds. He will focus on Jupiter’s moon Europa, which is a top priority for future NASA missions. The talk will also show how the exploration of Earth’s ocean is helping to inform our understanding of the potential habitability of worlds like Europa.
Kevin Peter Hand is a planetary scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California. His research focuses on the origin, evolution, and distribution of life in the solar system, with emphasis on Jupiter’s moon, Europa. His work involves both theoretical and laboratory research on the physics and chemistry of icy moons in the outer solar system.
Hand is the director of the Ocean Worlds Lab at JPL. He served as co-chair for NASA’s Europa Lander Science Definition team. He is the Project Scientist for the Pre-Phase-A Europa Lander mission.
From 2011 to 2016, Hand served as deputy chief scientist for Solar System Exploration at JPL. He served as a member of the National Academies Committee on Astrobiology and Planetary Sciences.
His work has brought him to the Dry Valleys of Antarctica, the sea ice near the North Pole, the depths of the Earth’s oceans, and to the glaciers of Kilimanjaro.
He was a scientist onboard James Cameron’s 2012 dive to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, and he was part of a 2003 IMAX expedition to hydrothermal vents in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Hand has made nine dives to the bottom of the ocean. In 2011 he was selected as a National Geographic Explorer.
Hand earned his Ph.D. from Stanford University and B.S. degrees from Dartmouth College. He was born and raised in Manchester, Vermont.
This interdisciplinary colloquium and networking event has two goals: (1) to forge connections across Georgia Tech straddling the boundaries between technology development and hypothesis testing in the search for life’s beginnings and (2) to explore collaborative ideas among participants.
Organizing Committee
Faculty Advisor: Martha Grover, professor, School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
More information is available here.
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