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SETI REU 2008 Projects

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Planetary Science and the Search for Life in the Solar System

devon burrDr. Devon Burr is a planetary geologist who studies the surfaces of planets to deduce the potential for conditions conducive to biotic or pre-biotic processes.  A student working with Dr. Burr would be involved in projects on the planetary geology of either Mars or Titan, two of NASA’s prime astrobiological targets.  Either of these projects would pertain to fluvial geomorphology, and the choice of body (Mars or Titan) would depend on the student’s preference.  The work will include a variety of tasks, including: image processing, mosaicking, and analysis; research into terrestrial analogues; and data synthesis, including participation in manuscript preparation. 

Qualifications: Useful skills include familiarity with UNIX, experience with ArcGIS software, college classes in geology or geomorphology, and knowledge of photogeology or image processing.  An interest in field work may be useful, in case such an opportunity arises, and self-direction is vital. This project is suited for a student interested in planetary geology. 

cynthia phillipsDr. Cynthia Phillips is a planetary geologist who uses remote sensing and image processing techniques to study the surfaces of the planets and satellites in the solar system. A student working with Dr. Phillips will use images taken by the ISS camera on the Cassini spacecraft to study the morphology of channels on the surface of Saturn’s moon Titan. Since Titan’s thick hazy atmosphere makes observing the surface very difficult from orbit, the student will be responsible for experimenting with image processing techniques to remove the atmospheric contribution and sharpen the surface appearance as much as possible.  The student will then calibrate, register, reproject, and mosaic images together to create larger-scale mosaics of interesting regions of Titan’s surface. After the image processing stage is complete, the student and Dr. Phillips will then map the distribution of channels. The results will then be compared to data from other instruments on the Cassini spacecraft and to different kinds of channel networks on the Earth to help determine the material properties of the fluid that carved them.

Qualifications:  At least a basic course in geology will be very useful, but not mandatory. Also useful will be knowledge of the unix operating system, and experience manipulating digital images in a program like Adobe Photoshop. This project is suitable for a student with an interest in planetary geology, remote sensing, and/or image processing, from either a geology or astronomy perspective.

richard quinnDr. Richard Quinn and Cindy Taylor study the chemistry of the surface of Mars from in situ observations. Currently en route to Mars, the NASA Phoenix mission carries four wet chemistry cells designed to perform solution chemistry on martian soil. The measurement objectives are typical of those that would be performed on an unknown sample on Earth, including detection of common anions and cations, total conductivity, pH, redox potential, cyclic voltammetry (CV). In this project, the REU student will perform laboratory investigations in support of the interpretation of data returned from the Phoenix Microscopy, Electrochemistry, and Conductivity Analyzer (MECA) Wet Chemical Laboratory (WCL) during Mars surface operations, which begin on May 25, 2008. The objective of this REU project will be for the student to use a MECA WCL test bed (which is a duplicate of the Mars flight instrument) located at NASA Ames to characterize Mars soil analogs under flight operating conditions using. These soil characterizations will be used to develop a library of instrument responses to be used to interpret the behavior of the flight instrument on Mars.

Qualifications: Two semesters of general chemistry with lab are required. One semester of analytical chemistry or a semester of physical chemistry with lab is preferred, but not required.  This project is suitable for a student interested in planetary geology, chemistry, instrumentation, and space exploration.

janice bishopDr. Janice Bishop studies the surface composition of Mars. She will work with two students this summer.

  1. In the first project, Dr. Bishop will work with a student to identify phyllosilicate and sulfate minerals in spectral images that are indicators of aqueous processes on Mars. Her group uses remote sensing data from Mars, in particular spectroscopic data that includes images of the surface taken at many different wavelengths. Spectroscopy allows scientists to determine the composition of the surface of a planet remotely. The student project will involve measuring visible and near-infrared (VNIR) reflectance spectra of rocks and minerals in the lab and performing analyses on hyperspectral Martian image cubes from the MRO CRISM instrument. Lab spectral measurements and analyses will be focused on preparing, measuring and studying mixtures of sulfate and phyllosilicate minerals that are thought to be present on Mars in order to help determine detection limits for these important mineral classes. Some rocks and soils that contain these components will also be studied.

    Qualifications: The student should have at least 2 years of physics, chemistry and geology, including a course in mineralogy and/or crystal chemistry.   Object oriented programming experience would also be useful and knowledge of java would be a plus. This project is suitable for a student interested in remote sensing and planetary geology.

  2. In the second project, Dr. Bishop will work with a student to study iron oxide/ oxyhydroxide minerals on Mars through laboratory alteration experiments.  These experiments are designed to test the formation, stability and properties of iron oxide/ oxyhydroxide minerals in order to characterize the aqueous processes on Mars.  In particular, we seek to determine formation pathways for magnetic minerals that are consistent with the evolution of the planet.  The student will also analyze iron bands in spectroscopic data of Mars. Spectroscopy allows scientists to determine the composition of the surface of a planet remotely. The student project will involve measuring visible and near-infrared (VNIR) reflectance spectra of the iron oxide/oxyhydroxide minerals in the lab and comparing these data to the Martian spectral images.

    Qualifications: The student should have at least 2 years of chemistry, one year of physics, and one course in geology or mineralogy.  This project is suitable for a student interested in mineralogy, remote sensing or planetary geology.

Biochemistry and the origin and evolution of life on Earth

rocco mancinelliDr. Rocco Mancinelli has broad research interests, encompassing ecology, physiology, biogeochemistry, and geochemistry. The common thread that ties Dr. Mancinelli’s different research projects together is the search for the definitive environmental limits in which life can arise and evolve in a planetary context.  Attempting to define these environmental limits has led his research into examining the potential for life to arise elsewhere in the solar system. 

Projects with Dr. Mancinelli include the following:

  1. Determining proteins and genes important in UV radiation and desiccation resistance in halophiles. In this project, a student will expose Halophilic microbes to the stresses of desiccation and UV radiation resistance separately and combined. After exposure, the microbes will be lysed and the proteins separated using 2-D SDS-PAGE.  Those proteins exhibiting the greatest increase after exposure to the test conditions, compared to unexposed controls, as seen in the gels will be cut form the gels and sequenced. The student will then take the sequence and using a variety of web based data banks to determine the genes that are being up regulated.

  2. Identifying organisms from a variety of hypersaline environments.  In this project, a student will use molecular microbiology techniques to identify unknown isolates. Specifically, a series of molecular (DNA-based) assays will be performed.  The DNA from microbial cells will be isolated and PCR amplifications of fragments of the 16S subunit of ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene from archaea, and bacteria (including cyanobacteria) will be analyzed.  Isolated clones will be chosen and processed for commercial sequencing. Sequences will be submitted to the DNA search engine, BLAST, of Genbank to determine the most closely related organisms and percent similarity. Sequenced archaeal and prokaryote 16S rRNA genes will be aligned to known sequences using GreenGenes, the 16S rRNA gene database and alignment tool Aligned sequences and close relatives will be manually refined by visual inspection using the MEGA phylogenetic software package version 3.1 (Molecular Evolutionary Genetics Analysis) and appropriate phylogenetic trees will be generated.  

Qualifications:  A class in microbiology including laboratory is a requirement for this project. Experience isolating DNA, as well as running PCR, will also be useful. This astrobiology project is suitable for a student with interests in microbiology, UV radiation resistance, extremophiles, laboratory work, and space-based life science experiments.

friedemann freundDr. Friedemann Freund studies the oxidation of the early Earth. Early Earth underwent a slow but seemingly inextricable global oxidation during the first 2 Gyrs, followed by the “Great Oxidation Event” about 2.4 Gyrs ago. The cause of the early oxidation is still under intense scrutiny. We have discovered a process, which must have had a major impact on the oxidation of Earth’s surface environment: a powerful electric current, stress-activated in igneous rocks, capable of flowing through rocks, oxidizing H2O to H2O2 at the rock–water interface. It is a current unlike any other current previously described. Its charge carriers derive from oxygen anions, which have changed their valence from 2– to 1– and which normally exist in an electrically inactive, dormant state: as peroxy links, Si-OO-Si. When the rocks are stressed, the peroxy links break apart, releasing defect electrons or holes, also known as positive holes or “pholes” for short, e.g. the electronic state associated with O– in a matrix of O2–. These charges produce currents that can flow for hours and days. In the laboratory they flow readily through longer than 4 m of dry granite. In the field they probably flow down the stress gradient through kilometers of rocks. When they reach a rock-water interface, they oxidize H2O to H2O2. On the early Earth, believed to have been tectonically active and replete with far-reaching stresses, this H2O2 production must have been a source of ever increasing oxidation. It probably contributed in significant ways to the oxidation of the early Earth and the evolution of early Life.

A summer student project with Dr. Freund will primarily involve laboratory experiments. However there is also the possibility to emphasize modeling of global weathering cycles as a function of the evolution of landmasses through time.

Qualifications: The student should have a strong background in physics, chemistry and geology.   Knowledge of LabVIEW as a data acquisition program would be useful and knowledge of Matlab or Mathematica would be a plus. This project is suitable for a physics, planetary science or geology student broadly interested in early Earth, early life, and planetary geology.

mattiodaDr. Andrew Mattioda and Dr. Alessandra Ricca perform laboratory-based (Mattioda) and theoretical (Ricca) studies of interstellar and planetary materials. A student will work with them on a joint project that combines both theoretical (quantum chemistry) and laboratory (infrared spectroscopy) techniques.

riccaDid all the essential ingredients of life come together on Earth, or did life get a jump-start from chemical processes in the interstellar environment? Were essential bio-molecules formed in space and then incorporated into the early Earth through meteor impacts and comet collisions? Questions such as these are the focus of our research work. We investigate these questions by studying the chemical composition, physical and chemical properties of interstellar and planetary materials, such as ice analogs containing a family of molecules known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, PAHs for short, which provide a biologically accessible form of carbon. The Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) work will focus on understanding the chemical and infrared spectroscopic properties of such realistic interstellar and planetary ice analogs before and after ultraviolet irradiation. This research will consist of a combination of theoretical and experimental techniques, to help interpret astronomical observations as well as the prebiotic chemical processes occurring in the ice analogs.

An REU student working on this project will have the opportunity to learn to use both experimental and theoretical techniques to help interpret astronomical observations. In the laboratory, the student will learn to use infrared spectroscopy combined with the techniques of matrix-isolation. In the computer lab, the student will learn how to use molecular modeling tools as well as state-of-the-art theoretical methods. By the end of their project, a student will have gained experience in the investigation of interstellar and interplanetary chemistry as well as the chemistry of life (astrobiology).

Qualifications: courses in general and organic chemistry, with physical chemistry preferred as well. Some familiarity with computers is also desirable. This project is suitable for a student interested in physical chemistry, spectroscopy, astronomy and astrophysics.

sandfordDr. Scott Sandford and Dr. Stefanie Milam perform laboratory experiments on solar system ices. Ices in interstellar space and in the Solar System are exposed to constant radiation.  This radiation, in the form of high energy photons and charged particles, can drive chemical reactions even at temperatures where normal equilibrium chemistry will not occur. These chemical reactions in space can produce complex organics that can be delivered to planetary surfaces, and it is possible that organics produced in this manner played important roles in the origin and evolution of life on Earth.

milamDr. Scott Sandford and Dr. Stefanie Milam conduct experiments to create complex organics by the UV photolysis of astrophysically relevant ices.  The organic species made during this process are studied to see if any are of biological relevance, also exist in meteorites, or can be telescopically detect in space.  A student working with them would learn a variety of techniques, including (i) preparation of very low temperature ice samples from gas mixtures in a high-vacuum, cryogenic sample system, (ii) carrying out UV irradiations, and (iii) analyzing samples using both infrared spectroscopy and high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC).

Qualifications:  Prior laboratory experience is preferred, but not required.  Introductory courses in chemistry and comfort using Windows and Macintosh computers are required.  This project is suitable for a student interested in chemistry, astronomy, and laboratory work.

hector dantoniDr. Hector D'Antoni and Dr. Jay Skiles study paleoclimates and hindcasting ecosystems to understand climate conditions in Earth's past and how they affect the origin and evolution of life. This project is aimed at reconstructing the functional history of the advanced terrestrial ecosystems of South America. The /net primary production/ (NPP) is the rate at which new biomass accrues in an ecosystem. In order to reconstruct past NPP, we traced the history of Quaternary climate forcings (solar, orbital and volcanic) and linked them to modern data of physical, geological and biological parameters. Now, we are running simulations of past NPP for the last 750 years. The results will be presented in graphs as well as in geographic information system (GIS) animations. jay skiles

Qualifications: The student should have some experience with database management and query tools and facility with PC operating systems. Courses in introductory biology, systems ecology, remote sensing and spectroscopy, advanced statistics and GIS would all be useful. This intern position would be appropriate for a biology, ecology, or geology major. In general, candidates should have an interest in paleoclimate and paleoenvironments.

Astronomy and the search for life in the universe

jean chiarDr. Jean Chiar is an astronomer whose research follows the cycle of stellar life and death, tracing the history of dust grains in the cosmos after they are created in the outflows of old, evolved stars until they are incorporated into newly forming stars which may eventually form planetary systems.   By making observations in the infrared part of the spectrum, Dr. Chiar examines the chemical fingerprints of the molecules that are central to this cycle.  In particular, Dr. Chiar studies the variation in abundances and temperatures of water-ice, carbon-monoxide-ice and carbon-dioxide ice in regions of star-formation (a.k.a. dense clouds).  The abundances of these ices varies significantly
depending on the physical properties (linked to how actively the regions are forming stars) of the region.

The REU student will work with recently acquired spectroscopic data from NASA's
ground-based Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) and/or from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. Several star-forming regions have been studied with these telescopes.  Each region has different characteristics in terms of density and levels of star-formation activity.  These aspects of the dense clouds will affect the chemistry in the region. With the IRTF, we've acquired spectra in the 2-5 micron region to measure the water-ice and carbon-monoxide-ice absorption features toward several lines of sight in each cloud.  With Spitzer we've acquired data in the 5-21 micron region to measure the abundance and characteristic of silicates, water-ice, organic molecules and carbon-dioxide.  The student will process the raw data to produce a spectrum that will resemble a blackbody curve with dips where the molecules absorb.  The student will then use various techniques to analyze the absorption features in order to determine the abundances and temperatures of the molecules for each line of sight with the goal of assessing the distinct chemistries in the sample of dense clouds.

Qualifications:  The student should be well-versed in the Linux/Unix operatingsystems.  Familiarity with IDL is preferred. Basic course work in astronomy is required.  An interest in chemistry is desired, though specific course work in chemistry is not required.

josh emeryDr. Joshua Emery and Dr. Franck Marchis, both planetary astronomers,use telescopic observations of small bodies in the Solar System (asteroids, moons, Kuiper Belt objects) to determine their surface compositions.  Most of these objects are thought to be fairly primitive (i.e., their compositions have not been altered much since their formation), so they are good windows into the conditions in the early solar nebula where these objects formed.  Many of these surfaces are also thought to contain significant amounts of organic material, which may be the prebiotic material that seeded the early Earth. Understanding the distribution of organic material in the Solar System is therefore an important component of the study of the origin of life. The REU student will work firsthand with telescopic data of these objects.  frank marchisTasks include preparation of an observing run at Lick Observatory, observations, and image processing necessary to go from raw telescopic digital images to final data products. Most data are spectroscopic or photometric rather than pretty pictures. A spectrum tracks the intensity of light reflected from a surface at different wavelengths (in this case, in the infrared part of the electromagnetic spectrum).  Photometric data will be use to build the lightcurve of the targets due to its spin and irregular shape. Different materials absorb light at specific wavelengths, so a spectrum acts as a sort of fingerprint of the surface composition. After spectra are produced, compositional modeling is required for proper interpretation.  The student will have the opportunity to follow through from the raw data to the final compositional modeling for several objects.

Qualifications:  The student should have a moderate to high level ofcomputer experience. Meticulous attention to detail is necessary, asare solid math skills through at least trigonometry.  Some programmingexperience (particularly using IDL) and familiarity or coursework in astronomy (particularly the Solar System, telescopes, and theelectromagnetic spectrum) would be beneficial.  This project is suitablefor a student interested in astronomy, planetary science, and data processing and analysis.

peter jenniskensDr. Peter Jenniskens performs airborne observations of natural and artificial meteors. This research project is dedicated to the investigation on August 12, 2008, of a rare encounter of Earth with the 1479-dust ejected by comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle. Swift-Tuttle is the parent comet of the August Perseid shower. In order to measure the dust denstiy in the stream on top of a strong annual shower background and in moonlight conditions, airborne observations are planned to observe the anticipated brief outburst of Perseids from a Gulfstream V business jet at 49,000 ft altitude. The high altitude perspective offers a low-atmospheric-exinction view over a large surface area near the horizon.

In an unrelated effort, an airborne campaign is being organized to observe the reentry in Earth's atmosphere of a 20-ton space vehicle in the South Pacific. This investigation is focussed on learning how the object breaks during entry and what are the physical conditions in each meteor created by the debris fragments. The exact date of the reentry is not known at this time, but it is expected to be some time in September of 2008, or perhaps as early as late August.

The student will work with Dr. Jenniskens, author of the 2006 book "Meteor Showers and their Parent Comets" (Cambridge University Press). Several research opportunities are available over the summer, depending on the inclination of the student. These include:

  1. Hands-on experience with the adapting and using of spectrographic cameras for the study of natural and artificial meteors.
  2. Development of interactive software tools and the analysis of meteor spectra.
  3. Participation in the analysis of past spectroscopic observations of meteors and preparation of the results for publication.

The student is expected to take part in the preparations for, and the execution of, the airborne Perseid mission in the period Aug 8 - Aug 13, in order to operate one of the (spectroscopic) cameras, and gain experience in doing so. The student would then be expected to join the spacecraft reentry mission as well, which will likely occur shortly after the summer program has been completed. That mission could take as long as one week. Please indicate in your application if you will be able to do so.

Similar airborne campaigns to study the past Leonid and Aurigid meteor showers are described at: http://leonid.arc.nasa.gov and http://aurigid.seti.org.

gerald harpDr. Gerald Harp is working on a project to support ultra-wide field, radio astronomy imaging with the Allen Telescope Array. The Allen Array is a new radio telescope, in Northern California, commissioned by the SETI Institute and UC Berkeley to simultaneously perform SETI searches and make radio astronomy observations. The intern will take part in some of the first astronomical observations with this unique instrument. An important key to high dynamic range imaging is full characterization of the single dish beam pattern on all ATA antennas. The intern will be responsible for beam pattern observations and comparison / analysis of the results. In collaboration with scientists at SETI and UC Berkeley, these results will be fed into novel research going on at ATA, including large field of view surveys of spectral line and continuum sources in the nearby universe.

Qualifications: The student should have elementary knowledge of at least one programming language, and be eager to learn some Java and Linux to support data acquisition and analysis. At least one astronomy class will be helpful as well. This project is suitable for a student interested in radio astronomy, astrophysics, and telescopes.

peter backusDr. Peter Backus is using a new radio telescope to search for signals from intelligent life. Because the array is made out of many, small 6.1m dishes, the Allen Telescope Array (ATA) looks at a very large field of view (FOV) on the sky at any moment.  The angular diameter of the FOV is 3.5°/(f in GHz), where f is the observing frequency.  This means that while the UC Berkeley radio astronomers are steering the array across the sky to measure local HI or search for transient radio sources, we can ‘share the sky’ and conduct SETI observations on the nearby stars that happen to fall within the FOV.  This sort of commensal observing strategy would not be feasible if either the FOV or the potential number of target stars we wish to observe is too small. We have produced two catalogs of potentially good ‘Habstars’ (those similar to the Sun and likely to serve as good hosts for potentially habitable planets) based on the star catalogs from Hiparcos and Tycho spacecraft.   As a result of these previous efforts, SETI searches with the ATA are utilizing a catalog of about 250,000 stars.  When the GAIA spacecraft flies in 2012, it will return measured distances to more than a billion stars and will allow us to greatly increase the size of the targeted SETI catalog of potential Habstars.   Until that time, there are other catalogs containing large numbers of stars, such as the USNO B1 and UCAC2 that could be used to identify additional Habstars and enhance the current ATA observing list. 

The REU intern would work with Dr. Peter Backus to apply the Turnbull and Tarter “culling” criteria to these additional large stellar catalogs in order to discard unsuitable stars and rank the remaining potential Habstar candidates according to their suitability.  There will be opportunities to conduct remote SETI observations with the existing as well as the enhanced stellar catalogs resulting from the summer efforts.  If time permits, it would also be desirable to create a map of the sky visible from Hat Creek that illustrates the average number of stellar targets per FOV as a function of right ascension, declination, and catalog version.  This will form the basic platform/scaffolding for a live graphical update tool that can display the % of completed frequency coverage for each of the candidate SETI target stars. 

Qualifications: The student should have some experience with database management and query tools and facility with both linux and PC operating systems.  Courses in introductory astronomy, stellar classification, spectroscopy, observational techniques, and statistics would all be useful.  This intern position would be appropriate for an astronomy or physics major.

jill tarterDr. Jill Tarter is a well-known scientist in the field of SETI, and is currently overseeing a new radio telescope. The Allen Telescope Array is the first LNSD telescope to be built (the acronym refers to an array consisting of a Large Number of Small Dishes).  The first 42 dishes are on the air and beginning to produce radio astronomy data and to conduct SETI searches. Much of the innovative technology for this array is new, even though as many consumer-off-the-shelf components as possible have been used in its construction. Not surprisingly, as we observe with the array, it breaks.  Some of these failures are ‘infant mortality’, and can be avoided in the future by off-line burn-in and adequate initial testing.  Some of the failures are indicative of components that are not sufficiently robust, and will require re-engineering to make them capable of sustaining 24x7 operations.  And some of the failures are simply the result of reaching the end of a component’s lifetime. In order to plan for the future of the array, and to effectively build it out from 42 to 350 dishes in the Hat Creek Valley, it is important to understand what kinds of failures, at what frequency, we should expect. 

Since the earliest observations with only a few dishes, we have been collecting data (manually and automatically) on what has broken.  Although the data have been collected, we haven’t yet analyzed the data to understand what they can tell us, and to uncover correlations and patterns that may link component failures in non-obvious ways.  An REU intern will work with Dr. Tarter, Matt Fleming (the mechanical engineer who has overseen the construction of all aspects of the array), and Dr. Rick Forster (the resident astronomer at the Hat Creek site) to:

Qualifications: The student should have some experience with database management and query tools and facility with both linux and PC operating systems.  Courses in laboratory instrumentation, systems engineering, numerical analysis, and statistics would all be useful.  This intern position would be appropriate for an astronomy, physics, or engineering major.