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<font face="Palatino">TITLE: Astrobiology, Life & Planetary
Protection: Implications on Earth and Beyond<br>
<br>
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>
<br>
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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