Two SPAC core area courses are being taught for the Spring 2006 semester.  Astrobiology is being taught by Tim Kral, a member of the space center and a faculty member in the Biological Sciences department.  Planetary Geology is being taught by Derek Sears, the director of the space center and a faculty member in the department of Chemisty/Biochemistry.  The class descriptions follow.

Astrobiology (SPAC 5553):  Discusses the scientific basis for the possible existence of extraterrestrial life. Includes origin and evolution of life on Earth, possibility of life elsewhere in the solar system (including Mars), and the possibility of life on planets around other stars.

Planetary Geology (SPAC 5413):  Exploration of the solar system, geology and straigraphy, meteorite impacts, planetary surfaces, planetary crusts, basaltic volcanism, planetary interiors, chemical composition of the planets, origin and
evolution of the Moon and planets.

Last November a new vacuum chamber arrived in the W.M. Keck Laboratory for Space Simulation.  It will be used by Tim Kral, a member of the space center and a faculty member in the department of Biological Sciences, and his students for Mars simulation experiments involving growth and survival of methanogens.  The chamber is a horizontal stainless steel cylinder with a volume of approximately 5 cubic feet.   Installation began in December and includes heating coils, a vacuum pump, thermocouples, an oxygen-scrubbing catalyst box, and capillary tubing that will feed into an external gas chromatograph. Once installation is complete, Kral’s team will begin experiments designed to examine effects of low pressure on methane production by strains of methanogens in a Mars soil simulant.  The goal with the new chamber will be to take the pressure closer to that observed at the surface of Mars.  Other experiments will include the combined effects of low pressure and desiccation (in Mars soil simulant and on solid surfaces) as well as low pressure and temperature.

Brian Fleming, a student at the Illinois Institute of Technology and a space center REU 2005 alumni, recently wrote to us the following:

Aloha from beatiful Alaska, temperature 7 degrees with a fresh three inches of snow.  I just got back from AAS.  My poster got better reviews than I thought it would, including an hour long three person argument about the nature of quasars between someone from Johns Hopkins University, someone from Oak Ridge, and me.

It was the biggest AAS meeting (so they say) and I got to listen to talks from the mayor of Washington, D.C., and the Administrator from NASA headquarters. 

And in closing, I nipped off one afternoon to the Smithsonian Zoo where I saw giraffes and hippos and a giant silver-backed gorilla who was picking his nose.  It was awesome.  I would have enjoyed some company, but ultimately I think it was a good experience.

Nicholas Phillips, a former student at Delta State University and a space center 2004 REU alumni recently wrote to us the following:

I greatly enjoyed my internship experience over the summer of 2004.  I graduated from Delta State University in May of 2005, and I have since been working full time at Baxter Healthcare in Cleveland, MS as a chemist.  The job has given a lot of various training that was not offered to me at my university.  Currently I am in charge of testing the final medical products distributed by the company before the products are released. 

I plan to continue my education, and hopefully enroll back in school in the fall of 2007.  I would like to enroll in the space and planetary science department in Arkansas if the program has any openings at that time.  I like the fact that the planetary sciences incorporates many various departments and fields into the curriculum.  Fayetteville is also a wonderful city that I would have to say I miss seeing. 

Thank you for the internship at the University of Arkansas.  I would have to say that it was one of the most enjoyable times that I can recall.

Fouad Al-Azzawe, a former post-doctoral student of Dr. Derek Sears, recently wrote to us to update us on what he is now doing.  He lives in Indianapolis and works as a biomedical engineer.  During his time at the University of Arkansas, Al-Azzawe and Sears researched natural thermo-luminescence of Antarctic meteorites.

Even though I live in Tucson, this was the first time in many years that I have attended the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show. This time, it was in the official capacity of Co-Editor of Meteorite magazine.  While the official show was the second week of February, all of the “good stuff” goes on for more than a week prior to the actual show.  Thousands of rooms with meteorite, gem, and fossil dealers fill almost every hotel and motel in Tucson.  I think the official number is over 5,000 dealers when you include exhibit halls and the main show itself!  An “official” article will come out in the May issue of Meteorite. I spent most of my time meeting the authors and subscribers of the magazine.  It was great to be able to put a face to an email address.  The displays were wonderful — from small, common chondrites that could be given out to teachers and students all the way up to my being able to hold two lunar meteorites that were worth about two million dollars!  The highlight of the show was the Brenham pallasite that was recently found in Kansas and is the front cover of our first issue of Meteorite — the largest oriented pallasite in the world at 1400 pounds. And the people were great too! I look forward working with them in the future.

FREE - 7:00pm - Poultry Science Auditorium

“Human and Natural Influences on Climate Change: Who’s Doing What?
Dr. Rick Ulrich, UArk
Chemical Engineering Department
February 22, 2006

Barringer Lecture Series
“Meteorite Porosity and Asteroid Structure: Are Asteroids Fluffy?”
Dr. Guy J. Consolmagno
University of Arizona
April 10, 2006

“Life on Mars”
Dr. Tim Kral, UArk
Biological Sciences Department
April 12, 2006