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Presentation on the OU Astrobiology Research Group's project funding from Research England

Dates
Tuesday, September 10, 2019 - 11:00 to 12:00
Location
D203, Michael Young Building, The Open University, Walton Hall, MK7 6AA

Research England has recently awarded the OU's Astrobiology Research Group an 'Expanding Excellence in England' grant worth £6.7 million. This is allowing the Group to expand to bring together expertise in technology, international development and governance to address the scientific and governance challenges associated with the advancement of astrobiology and related space exploration missions.

The primary aims are:

  • furthering the understanding of the limits of life and potentially habitable  environments in the Solar System
  • identifying chemical and geochemical signatures that could be used as evidence of life
  • commercially-viable bespoke microbiological solutions to challenges related to low-biomass environments, for example, monitoring clean rooms
  • educating and engage with the space sector, policymakers and the public in the UK and Official Development Assistance (ODA) countries
  • examining critically the governance and ethical implications of astrobiology-related space missions to develop and enhance governance frameworks
  • sustainably expand the Open University Astrobiology Unit and achieve a step change in research outputs and impact

The presentation will give an overview of the work being carried out over the next three years with a particular focus on space governance. Project lead Dr Karen Olsson-Francis (STEM) is being joined by Professor Chris Newman, the OU’s new Visiting Professor of Space Law, and Simon Lee, Professor of Law.

This multi-disciplinary research environment has members from the Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM); the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS); and the Business and Law Schools.

There is no need to book, please just come along on the day.

Biography: Dr Karen Olsson-Francis

Dr Karen Olsson-Francis is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Environment, Earth and Ecosystem Sciences at the OU. She holds a PhD in Microbiology from the University of Otago, in New Zealand, where she studied live in the extreme environment. At present, she is the UK Space Agency Representative on COSPAR (the international committee of space research) and also a member of the European Astrobiology Institute Executive Committee. She is the Director of The Open University Astrobiology Research Group.