AbGradCon 2026 Application Deadline Extended to June 8th, 2026
Applications are open for AbGradCon 2026, taking place September 14–18, 2026, at the University of Arizona in Tucson. AbGradCon welcomes graduate students, early-career postdocs, and recent graduates working in astrobiology and doing related research in adjacent fields (planetary science, astromaterials/chemistry, prebiotic chemistry).
The application deadline has been extended to June 8, 2026 at 11:59 PM Pacific Time. Attendance is free, with lodging and food fully covered and travel support available up to $500.
This year’s program will feature keynote speakers Dante Lauretta, OSIRIS-REx, and Matthew Powner, prebiotic chemist at UCL. Panelists include Kate Craft of APL, Marc Neveu of NASA Goddard, Aaron Goldman of Oberlin College, and a tentative industry panelist.
Also Consider applying for the AbGradCon Proposal Writing Retreat (PWR)!
AbGradCon applicants are also encouraged to apply for the Proposal Writing Retreat, taking place September 11–13, 2026 at Mount Lemmon before the main conference. Participants will learn how to write a strong NASA ROSES-style proposal, and pursue award funding from government and private sponsors, from mentors with experience in grant application and evaluation.
This retreat is a valuable opportunity for early-career researchers to develop proposal-writing skills, receive expert feedback, and connect with peers before AbGradCon begins.
Learn more here: https://www.abgradcon.org/pwr.
Astrobiology,
