Chemistry and Biochemistry Symposium to Feature NASA Speaker and Poster Session

The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry is proud to present its 22nd annual departmental symposium and poster session in conjunction with the Petersheim Academic Exposition on Tuesday evening April 18, 2017.

The symposium will include a lecture in the Rose Mercadante Seminar Series by Dr. Melissa G. Trainer of the Robert Goddard Space Flight Center, National Aeronautics and Space Administration entitled "Chemistry on Mars: The Search for Habitable Environments with Curiosity" at 5:45 PM in the Helen Lerner Amphitheater, McNulty Hall, Science and Technology Center, Seton Hall University.

Following the lecture, a poster session featuring the research of 50 undergraduate and graduate students in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry will be held at 7:00 PM in the Mary Ann and Pat Murray Atrium in McNulty Hall. All members of the University Community and friends of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry are welcome to attend the lecture and poster session.

Following on decades of exploration of Mars, our knowledge of our neighboring planet has advanced well beyond observations of canals to the comprehensive characterization of surface topology and regional mineralogy. There are clear lines of evidence for past liquid water and a complex climate history. Yet some of the fundamental questions remain: Was there ever life on Mars? Could there have been life on Mars? The Curiosity rover carries the most advanced analytical laboratory sent to another planet, and over the past four and half years the mission has performed a detailed in situ investigation of Gale Crater. The Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument suite in particular has quantified geochemical indicators that demonstrate the environment could have supported life, and has achieved detection of the first organic molecules on Mars. Atmospheric measurements by SAM have identified signatures of planetary change over billions of years and monitored modern activity. This presentation will recount the most important findings on the chemistry of Mars to date, and will discuss the implications for our understanding of whether the red planet was ever habitable.

Read full article at: http://www.shu.edu/arts-sciences/news/chemistry-symposium-to-feature-nasa-speaker.cfm

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