Origins of Life

Supports the Simons Collaboration on the Origins of Life

The origin of life is one of the great unsolved scientific problems of our age. Understanding the origins of life involves finding answers to questions concerning the astrophysical and planetary context of the origins of life, the development of prebiotic chemistry, the assembly of the first cells, the advent of Darwinian evolution, and the earliest signs of life on the young Earth.

Simons Collaboration on the Origins of Life

About

The Simons Collaboration on the Origins of Life (SCOL) aims to advance our understanding of the processes that led to the emergence of life through collaborative, multidisciplinary research. The collaboration comprises investigators in diverse fields, as well as postdoctoral fellows chosen through an annual competition, whose research addresses critical questions regarding origins. More About SCOL

John P. Grotzinger, Ph.D.

Co-Director, SCOL

John Grotzinger is a professor of geology and geobiology, and the division chair for Geological and Planetary Sciences at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).

John Sutherland, Ph.D.

Co-Director, SCOL

John Sutherland studied chemistry at the University of Oxford and then spent a spell as a Kennedy Scholar at Harvard with Jeremy Knowles.

Microbial Ecology and Evolution

Microbial Oceanography