Jennifer Eigenbrode Explained

Jennifer Eigenbrode
Workplaces:Goddard Space Flight Center
Alma Mater:
Thesis Title:Late Archean microbial ecology: An integration of molecular, isotopic, and lithologic studies
Thesis Url:https://www.proquest.com/docview/305150063/
Thesis Year:2004
Doctoral Advisor:Katherine Freeman
Academic Advisors:

Jennifer Eigenbrode is an interdisciplinary astrobiologist who works at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. She specializes in organic chemistry, geology, and organic bio-geochemistry of martian and ocean-world environments.

Early life and education

Eigenbrode's family of engineers and technicians helped foster her enjoyment of science and her naturally inquisitive nature. Geology grabbed her curiosity from an early age and she became a "professional geology student".[1]

Eigenbrode obtained her B.S. in geology from James Madison University in Virginia. Her senior thesis explored the clay mineralogy of river terrace soils in Virginia.[2] Her master's degree was obtained from Indiana University Bloomington and focused on geological sciences while working under the direction of Lisa Pratt.[3] Her Ph.D. was obtained at Pennsylvania State University where her dissertation topic was "Late Archean microbial ecology: an integration of molecular isotopic, and lithologic records"[4] while working under the direction of Katherine Freeman. Following her Ph.D., Eigenbrode was a postdoctoral fellow at the Carnegie Institution of Washington from 2004 until 2007 working under the direction of Marilyn Fogel. In 2007 she accepted a position at the National Aeronautic and Space Administration as a space scientist.

Research

Eigenbrode's early research was on the Earth's atmosphere during the Archean era where she examined organic carbon,[5] sulfur,[6] and the origin of aerobic ecosystems.[7] She then moved on to examining organic compounds found in Neoarchaean rocks,[8] establishing field methods to prepare samples for analysis,[9] and developing methods to preserve samples from Mars in a manner that allows investigation of biosignatures.[10] [11]

Her current research focuses on Mars, and uses samples collected by the rover Curiosity which she uses to search for signals of life on Mars.[12] She received NASA's Internal Research and Development (IRAD) Innovator of the Year award in 2009 for her work on a sample preparation module needed to collect samples from Mars.[13] She is a part of the team[14] [15] working on samples from Mars including gases[16] and soils,[17] and radiation on the planet.[15] [18] She was lead author on a paper examining organic matter within the samples from Mars,[19] [20] research that used the SAM instrument (Sample Analysis at Mars) to burn samples collected from the surface of Mars and examined the resulting gas to determine the composition of the samples.[21] [22] Eigenbrode is also establishing the groundwork to use the CheMin (Chemistry and Mineralogy) instrument on Curiosity to detect organic salts in the Mars samples.[23] [24]

Selected publications

Awards and honors

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Women at NASA: Jennifer Eigenbrode. Women at NASA. 2020-03-07.
  2. Web site: Bio - Jennifer L Eigenbrode. 2020-03-07. science.gsfc.nasa.gov. en.
  3. Sedimentological, carbon-isotopic, and molecular records of late Holocene climate in the sediments of Soda Lake, Carrizo plain, California. 1999. English. Jennifer L. Eigenbrode. 42322638.
  4. Web site: Late Archean Microbial Ecology: An Integration of Molecular, Isotopic, and Lithologic Studies . 26 March 2004 . Eigenbrode . Jennifer L..
  5. Pavlov. Alexander A.. Kasting. James F.. Eigenbrode. Jennifer L.. Freeman. Katherine H. . Katherine H. Freeman. 2001-11-01. Organic haze in Earth's early atmosphere: Source of low-13C Late Archean kerogens?. Geology. 29. 11. 1003–1006. 10.1130/0091-7613(2001)029<1003:OHIESE>2.0.CO;2. 2001Geo....29.1003P. 0091-7613.
  6. Ono. Shuhei. Eigenbrode. Jennifer L.. Pavlov. Alexander A.. Kharecha. Pushker. Rumble. Douglas. Kasting. James F.. Freeman. Katherine H.. Katherine H. Freeman. 2003-08-01. New insights into Archean sulfur cycle from mass-independent sulfur isotope records from the Hamersley Basin, Australia. Earth and Planetary Science Letters. en. 213. 1. 15–30. 10.1016/S0012-821X(03)00295-4. 2003E&PSL.213...15O. 0012-821X.
  7. Eigenbrode. Jennifer L.. Freeman. Katherine H.. Katherine H. Freeman. 2006-10-24. Late Archean rise of aerobic microbial ecosystems. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. en. 103. 43. 15759–15764. 10.1073/pnas.0607540103. 0027-8424. 1635076. 17043234. 2006PNAS..10315759E. free.
  8. Eigenbrode. Jennifer L.. Freeman. Katherine H.. Katherine H. Freeman. Summons. Roger E.. Roger Everett Summons. 2008-09-15. Methylhopane biomarker hydrocarbons in Hamersley Province sediments provide evidence for Neoarchean aerobiosis. Earth and Planetary Science Letters. en. 273. 3. 323–331. 10.1016/j.epsl.2008.06.037. 2008E&PSL.273..323E. 0012-821X.
  9. Eigenbrode. Jennifer. Benning. Liane G.. Maule. Jake. Wainwright. Norm. Steele. Andrew. Amundsen. Hans E.F.. 2009-06-01. A Field-Based Cleaning Protocol for Sampling Devices Used in Life-Detection Studies. Astrobiology. 9. 5. 455–465. 10.1089/ast.2008.0275. 19496672. 2009AsBio...9..455E. 1531-1074.
  10. Summons. Roger E.. Roger Everett Summons. Amend. Jan P.. Bish. David. Buick. Roger. Cody. George D.. Des Marais. David J.. Dromart. Gilles. Eigenbrode. Jennifer L.. Knoll. Andrew H.. Sumner. Dawn Y.. 2011-03-01. Preservation of Martian Organic and Environmental Records: Final Report of the Mars Biosignature Working Group. Astrobiology. 11. 2. 157–181. 10.1089/ast.2010.0506. 21417945. 2011AsBio..11..157S. 1721.1/66519. 9963677 . 1531-1074. free.
  11. Mahaffy. Paul R.. Webster. Christopher R.. Cabane. Michel. Conrad. Pamela G.. Coll. Patrice. Atreya. Sushil K.. Arvey. Robert. Barciniak. Michael. Benna. Mehdi. Bleacher. Lora. Brinckerhoff. William B.. 2012-09-01. The Sample Analysis at Mars Investigation and Instrument Suite. Space Science Reviews. en. 170. 1. 401–478. 10.1007/s11214-012-9879-z. 2012SSRv..170..401M. 3759945. 1572-9672. free.
  12. Web site: Emspak,SPACE.com. Jesse. Was There Ever Life on Mars?. 2021-12-11. Scientific American. en.
  13. Web site: 2009-11-19. Eigenbrode Earns Chief Technologist's Top Prize, Flatley Wins an Honorable Mention. live. 2021-12-10. https://web.archive.org/web/20091119215525/http://gsfctechnology.gsfc.nasa.gov/2009InnOfYear.htm. 2009-11-19.
  14. Grotzinger. J. P.. John P. Grotzinger. Sumner. D. Y.. Kah. L. C.. Stack. K.. Gupta. S.. Edgar. L.. Rubin. D.. Lewis. K.. Schieber. J.. Mangold. N.. Milliken. R.. 2014-01-24. A Habitable Fluvio-Lacustrine Environment at Yellowknife Bay, Gale Crater, Mars. Science. 343. 6169. 1242777. 10.1126/science.1242777. 24324272. 2014Sci...343A.386G. 52836398. free. 2060/20150008374. free.
  15. Hassler. Donald M.. Zeitlin. Cary. Wimmer-Schweingruber. Robert F.. Ehresmann. Bent. Rafkin. Scot. Eigenbrode. Jennifer L.. Brinza. David E.. Weigle. Gerald. Böttcher. Stephan. Böhm. Eckart. Burmeister. Soenke. 2014-01-24. Mars' Surface Radiation Environment Measured with the Mars Science Laboratory's Curiosity Rover. Science. 343. 6169. 1244797. 10.1126/science.1244797. 24324275. 2014Sci...343D.386H. 1874/309142. 33661472. free. free.
  16. Mahaffy. Paul R.. Webster. Christopher R.. Atreya. Sushil K.. Franz. Heather. Wong. Michael. Conrad. Pamela G.. Harpold. Dan. Jones. John J.. Leshin. Laurie A.. Laurie Leshin. Manning. Heidi. Owen. Tobias. 2013-07-19. Abundance and Isotopic Composition of Gases in the Martian Atmosphere from the Curiosity Rover. Science. 341. 6143. 263–266. 10.1126/science.1237966. 23869014. 2013Sci...341..263M. 206548973.
  17. Leshin. L. A.. Laurie Leshin. Mahaffy. P. R.. Webster. C. R.. Cabane. M.. Coll. P.. Conrad. P. G.. Archer. P. D.. Atreya. S. K.. Brunner. A. E.. Buch. A.. Eigenbrode. J. L.. 2013-09-27. Volatile, Isotope, and Organic Analysis of Martian Fines with the Mars Curiosity Rover. Science. 341. 6153. 1238937. 10.1126/science.1238937. 24072926. 2013Sci...341E...3L. 206549244.
  18. Web site: ABC News. December 9, 2013. Curiosity Sniffing the Ground on Hunt for Martian Organic Material. 2021-12-11. ABC News. en.
  19. Eigenbrode. Jennifer L.. Summons. Roger E.. Roger Everett Summons. Steele. Andrew. Freissinet. Caroline. Millan. Maëva. Navarro-González. Rafael. Sutter. Brad. McAdam. Amy C.. Franz. Heather B.. Glavin. Daniel P.. Archer. Paul D.. 2018-06-08. Organic matter preserved in 3-billion-year-old mudstones at Gale crater, Mars. Science. en. 360. 6393. 1096–1101. 2018Sci...360.1096E. 10.1126/science.aas9185. 0036-8075. 29880683. 46983230. free. 10044/1/60810. free.
  20. Web site: Voosen. Paul. 2018-06-07. NASA rover hits organic pay dirt on Mars. 2021-01-15. Science AAAS. en.
  21. Web site: 2021-05-25. Organic salts on Mars hint at ancient microbial life on the Red Planet. 2021-12-11. ZME Science. en-US.
  22. Web site: Wall. Mike. 2018-06-07. Curiosity Rover Finds Ancient 'Building Blocks for Life' on Mars. 2021-12-11. Space.com. en.
  23. Lewis. J. M. T.. Eigenbrode. J. L.. Wong. G. M.. McAdam. A. C.. Archer. P. D.. Sutter. B.. Millan. M.. Williams. R. H.. Guzman. M.. Das. A.. Rampe. E. B.. 2021. Pyrolysis of Oxalate, Acetate, and Perchlorate Mixtures and the Implications for Organic Salts on Mars. Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets. en. 126. 4. e2020JE006803. 10.1029/2020JE006803. 2021JGRE..12606803L. 233603377. 2169-9100.
  24. Web site: Ashley Strickland. Organic salts could be on Mars. Here's what that means. 2021-12-11. CNN. 2 June 2021.
  25. Web site: Philip R. Cosminsky Award. 2021-12-10. www.jmu.edu. en.
  26. News: GSA Awards Research Grants. 9. GSA Today. 9. December 10, 2021.
  27. Web site: Awards Won - Computational & Information Sciences and Technology Office - 606. 2021-12-10. science.gsfc.nasa.gov.
  28. Web site: 125th Anniversary Fellows named by the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences Penn State University. 2021-12-11. www.psu.edu. en.

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