Summer 2021 

Wednesday, June 16 at 3:00 pm

Graduate Student Seminar - Alex Charbonneau

Friday, June 18 at 3:00 pm 

Graduate Student Seminar - Mackenzie Lynes 

Thursday, July 8 at 9:00 am

PhD Defense in Biochemistry Nicholas Reichart

Friday, July 9 at 11 am 

Byker Auditorium

Micah J Schaible, Ph.D., Research Scientist at Georgia Institute of Technology

Radiation is ubiquitous in space. Objects such moons and asteroids are directly exposed to radiation which modifies their surfaces and ejects species into the exosphere. While radiation damage of biomolecules is a well-known risk to human explorers in space, it can also form relatively complex species (e.g. amino acids) from simple molecular precursors (e.g. CO, H2O, and NH3). Such molecules could be delivered to young planets by asteroid and comet impactors, and these may provide an important source materials for origins of life. My work explores how radiation from stars modifies the chemical and physical characteristics of airless bodies, and how the effects of radiation can be used to understand the origins of the Solar System. Through combined computational and experimental simulations, I construct quantitative models of ionizing radiation effects in both icy and rocky materials to help explain spacecraft observations, predict environmental conditions, and to evaluate potential resources that will aid in furure space exploration.

 

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