Room 210-211, Hilton Atlanta, 255 Courtland Street NE, Atlanta, GA 30303
Where do we come from? Does life exist elsewhere in the universe? This event, part of the Science Track at DragonCon and presented by Georgia Tech Astrobiology, tackles these questions. The panel will conduct two interactive symposia; the first, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., covers current scientific thought on our biochemistry’s beginnings, our planet’s evolution as a habitable system, and how we search for signs of life in space. The second symposium from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. explores the influential roles of science and science fiction, the implications of the discovery of water on Mars, and what life might look like on other worlds.
Panelists include School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Professors Chris Reinhard and Britney Schmidt, and School of Chemistry and Biochemistry Professor Amanda Stockton. Also on the panel is Luju Ohja, who received his EAS Ph.D. in 2016. Ohja was part of the research team that discovered flowing water on Mars.
Anyone who has purchased DragonCon tickets may attend. More information on DragonCon, a four-day celebration of sci-fi/fantasy/horror and pop culture held Labor Day weekend in downtown Atlanta, can be found here.
This year's DragonCon pop culture convention in downtown Atlanta includes a Georgia Tech Astrobiology symposium on the search for life beyond Earth, and how that has influenced everything from the planning for future NASA missions to plotlines for science fiction movies and TV shows.