AbGradCon 2010 a Success

The 2010 Astrobiology Graduate Student Conference (AbGradCon) was held from June 14-18 this year in Taellberg, Sweden. Eighty-eight participants from 29 different countries attended the meeting, which brought together early-career scientists in the field of astrobiology. The conference schedule included oral sessions on exoplanets, astronomy and life, habitability, weird life, biosignatures and Mars, all of which were video streamed live via the web. There were also participant-led, discussion-oriented workshops on various topics within the field of astrobiology, covering topics ranging from future missions to rocky planets, to habitability, to the origin of life. The third day of the event included an excursion into the Siljan crater area, a known impact crater structure located close by. Participants traveled to various sites of geological interest within the impact structure to study the effects of impacts, and had the opportunity to observe strata that had been distorted by the impact, as well as to search for fossils in outcrops near the crater boundary. The AbGradCon tradition will be carried on in 2011, where it is currently planned to take place in Bozeman, Montana. For more information: http://www.abgradcon2010.org/

Source: NAI Newsletter