For the second year, Penn State hosted the International Geobiology Course (IGC), funded by the Agouron Institute and Simons Foundation. Katherine Freeman, Evan Pugh University Professor of Geosciences, and Jennifer Macalady, professor of geosciences, directed the course.
The course explores how microbial life and the Earth have shaped each other and brought together seventeen students pursuing their doctoral degrees.
Students conducted research in central Italy and New York’s Fayetteville Green Lake before traveling to Penn State to analyze their findings.
Central Italy’s Frasassi cave system contains microbial life that endures harsh anoxic conditions, similar to potential life on other planets. Same for Green Lake, which researchers think approximates Earth’s anoxic bodies of water that existed up until about 2.5 billion years ago. Course objectives included exploring how life and Earth processes are linked, by studying microbial ecosystems and biosignatures in modern and ancient thermal springs, tracking biological signatures within ancient sediments, learning testing methods in both the lab and the field, and writing and understanding research papers.
“My colleagues and I were delighted to bring the International Geobiology Course to Penn State,” Freeman said. “This is our second year as hosts of this highly regarded course, which has taught generations of young scholars, many of whom are now scientific leaders in this innovative field. For me, hands down, the best is working with students from all over the world together with our incredibly talented team of instructors.”