This year, the CSR will host a series of webinars and a workshop guided by the central theme of Chemistry 2050 across a range of intersectional chemistry topics, exploring how the chemical sciences will journey through the next quarter-of-a-century. This series will provide a forum that anticipates and re-imagines how the discipline could look in the year 2050.
Join us for the first Chemistry 2050 webinar on Monday, April 14, from 12:00pm to 2:00pm which ventures into space chemistry 25 years from now. The webinar will feature a moderated discussion with expert panelists exploring how advances in astrochemistry intersect with our understanding of the origins of solar systems and future space travel missions. Edward Ashton (ICON plc, Mickey7) will moderate a thought provoking discussion between our panelists, Jennifer Bergner (University of California - Berkeley), Jason Dworkin (NASA), and Sara Seager (MIT) and Jennifer Talley (Air Force Office of Scientific Research) which will highlight the formation of planets in tandem with stars, the fundamentals and frontiers of astrochemistry, the observation of biosignatures in the atmospheres of exoplanets, and the methods of exploring our solar system.
Edward Ashton, Senior Director, Medical and Scientific Affairs, ICON plc; Author, Mickey7
Edward Ashton serves as Senior Director for Medical and Scientific Affairs for ICON plc, a global clinical research organization, where he leads the company’s efforts in oncology drug development. In this role, he has directed the conduct of more than 450 human clinical trials over the past twenty-five years. He holds a doctorate in Electrical Engineering with a specialization in medical imaging. His primary research interest is in magnetic resonance imaging. In particular, he has been a leader in the use of dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI as a tool for characterizing the tumor microenvironment, and of magnetic resonance elastography for the in vivo assessment of liver fibrosis. He is also the author of six published novels, most prominently including Mickey7, which is the basis for the recently released feature film Mickey 17, directed by Bong Joon-ho (Parasite, Snowpiercer) and starring Robert Pattinson, Naomi Ackie, and Mark Ruffalo. His short fiction has appeared in venues ranging from the newsletter of an Italian sausage company to Analog, Fireside Fiction, and Escape Pod. You can find him online at edwardashton.com.
Jennifer Bergner, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, University of California - Berkeley
Jenny Bergner is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry at UC Berkeley, with joint affiliations in the Department of Astronomy and Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. She is an expert in astrochemistry with a focus on understanding how the composition and potential habitability of nascent planets are influenced by the chemistry at play during their formation. In recent years, she has been recognized with the Annie Jump Cannon Award (American Astronomical Society) the Chevron Chair in Chemistry (UC Berkeley), and a Scialog Fellowship (RCSA). She completed her PhD at Harvard, followed by a NASA Sagan Postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Chicago.
Jason Dworkin, Senior Scientist for Astrobiology, Solar System Exploration Division Project Scientist, OSIRIS-REx, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Dr. Jason Dworkin is the Senior Scientist for Astrobiology at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) and the Project Scientist for NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission. He is the founder and director of the Astrobiology Analytical Laboratory at GSFC which employs modern analytical methods to examine authentic samples of the early solar system as well as laboratory models of ancient environments. He has 40 years of experience in assessing the organic species available for the origin and early evolution of life with a focus is on understanding the extraterrestrial input and origin of organic molecules relevant for life. This objective has been to study increasingly documented and constrained systems, from plausibly early Earth chemistry, chemistry of astrophysically relevant laboratory ices, organic and chiral analysis of meteorites, to analysis of sample returned material and how to protect that material from contamination. He has received numerous awards for his work with OSIRIS-REx and for science leadership at GSFC. He received an A.B. from Occidental College and a Ph.D. from the University of California, San Diego both in biochemistry.
Sara Seager, Class of 1941 Professor of Planetary Science, Professor of Physics, Professor of Aerospace Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Professor Sara Seager is an astrophysicist and a Professor of Physics, Professor of Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering, and the Class of 1941 Chair Professor of Planetary Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She is known for her pioneering research on exoplanets and their atmospheres. Her research has introduced many foundational ideas to the field of exoplanets, planets orbiting stars other than the Sun. She is now at the forefront of the search for the first Earth-like exoplanets and signs of life on them. In addition she is pursuing exploration of Venus as a habitable world through laboratory experiments of biochemicals in concentrated sulfuric acid and her leadership of . Professor Seager earned her BSc in Math and Physics from the University of Toronto and her PhD in Astronomy from Harvard University. For her research Professor Seager was awarded a MacArthur “genius” grant, the Kavli Prize in Astrophysics, one of Canada’s highest civilian honors, appointment as an Officer of the Order of Canada, membership in the National Academy of Sciences, and has Asteroid 9729 named in her honor. She is the author of, “The Smallest Lights in the Universe: A Memoir”.
Jennifer L. Talley, Program Officer for Life Sciences in Space, Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR)
Jennifer L. Talley is a Program Officer of Space Biosciences at the Air Force Office of Scientific Research in Arlington, Virginia. As program officer she discovers, shapes, and supports basic research that will benefit the Air Force (AF), Space Force (SF), and more broadly the Department of Defense (DoD). Dr. Talley became an Air Force civilian researcher in 2011. She was a Senior Research Biological Scientist in the Integrated Seekers and Processing Branch, Guidance Division in the AFRL Munitions Directorate at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. Some of her major awards and decorations include: 2023 Research Excellence Award, 2022 Demonstration Award, 2020 Notable Achievement Award, 2019 Special Act of Service Award, 2018 AFOSR Star Team Member, 2017 Outstanding Mentor Award, and 2017 Windows on the World AFOSR Award. In 2019, she was listed as the co-inventor on U. S. Patent No. 11,703,88 for Bio-Hybrid Odor-Localizing Autonomous Air Vehicle. Prior to her current position, Dr. Talley earned a master’s in strategic studies at Air War College in residence, Grand Strategy Seminar, at Air University, Maxwell AFB, Alabama. Dr. Talley received a PhD in Biology from Case Western Reserve University in 2010 and a BS in Mathematics from the University of Arizona in 2003.
