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This course has been put together by three enthusiastic astrobiologists at the UK Centre for Astrobiology (UKCA): Charles Cockell, Jesse Harrison and Casey Bryce.

Here is some information about us:

Charles Cockell is Professor of Astrobiology at the University of Edinburgh. He received his doctorate at the University of Oxford and was a National Research Council Associate at the NASA Ames Research Centre. He was a visiting scholar at Stanford University and the University of Arizona. Cockell is currently Director of the UK Centre for Astrobiology and his research interests focus on how microbes survive in extreme environments, including volcanic and impact crater environments. Cockell is a Senior Editor of the journal, Astrobiology. His popular science books include ‘Impossible Extinction’ (Cambridge University Press), which explores the tenacity of microbes on the Earth, and ‘Space on Earth’ (Macmillan) which looks at the links between environmentalism and space exploration. He is Chair of the Earth and Space Foundation, a non-profit organisation he established in 1994. He was the first Chair of the Astrobiology Society of Britain.

Jesse Harrison joined the UK Centre for Astrobiology (UKCA) as a Postdoctoral Research Associate in June 2012. His research focuses on microbial growth and preservation under combinations of several physical and chemical extremes. He also has broad research interests in microbial ecology, environmental microbiology and biodiversity. Prior to joining the UKCA, Jesse completed his Ph.D. at the University of Sheffield and in collaboration with the UK Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science. His doctorate research project focused on the detection and bacterial colonization of microplastic debris in marine sediments.

Casey Bryce is a PhD student at the University of Edinburgh. She gained her undergraduate degree in Earth Sciences from the University of Glasgow in 2011. She has a keen interest in the geology of the Earth and other planets in the solar system, especially the unravelling of Earth’s earliest history through the rock record and the influence of biology on geology through time. Her current research is involved with investigating the way in which microbes alter and are altered by the rocks around them.