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<font face="Palatino">TITLE: Astrobiology, Life & Planetary
Protection: Implications on Earth and Beyond<br>
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SPEAKER: Margaret S. Race, SETI Institute, Mountain View,
California <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.seti.org/">http://www.seti.org/</a><br>
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DATE: Thursday, April 12th at 5:30pm in Mail Lecture Hall<br>
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Abstract:<br>
For centuries, humans have gazed at the heavens and wondered
whether we are alone. Only in the past 5 decades have we been able
to use science and technology to search for evidence of
extraterrestrial life. As astrobiologists seek to learn more about
the origin, evolution, distribution and fate of life on Earth and
beyond, we also confront an array of challenging questions about
the nature of life and its long term sustainability. Practically,
this means that the development of guidelines for responsible
exploration and planetary protection now requires a truly
interdisciplinary approach, combining advances in science and
technology with input from ethical, legal, and societal
perspectives. Coincidentally, these deliberations about space
exploration and the search for ET life also bring an interesting
perspective to current debates about emerging technologies and
scientific progress here on Earth.<br>
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Biographical Statement:<br>
Margaret Race is Senior Research Scientist at the SETI Institute.
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.seti.org/">http://www.seti.org/</a> Her work focuses on the scientific,
technical, legal and societal issues of ensuring that missions to
Mars and other solar system bodies do not either inadvertently
bring terrestrial microbes along, which would complicate our
search for indigenous extraterrestrial life, or return any
microbes to Earth. Her interest in extraterrestrial organisms is
linked closely to her long term ecological research on exotic and
invasive species. She is also actively involved in education and
public outreach about astrobiology. Since her early work with the
Environmental Protection Agency as a Public Information
Specialist, and her tenure at San Francisco television station
KQED, Dr. Race has had a strong interest in the communication of
science via the mass media. She especially likes to work with
journalists and educators as they develop materials about complex,
controversial issues in space exploration and environmental
protection. Her enthusiasm is infectious, and her work ensures
that our spacecraft won't be.<br>
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<title>CBD to-do list updated and attached</title>
Paula Harmon, Administrative Assistant <br>
<div class="moz-signature"><small> School of Cognitive Science <br>
Hampshire College<br>
893 West Street Amherst, MA 01002 <br>
phone: 413.559.5502 <br>
fax: 413.559.5438 <br>
<a href="http://cs.hampshire.edu">http://cs.hampshire.edu</a></small>
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