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 and focused on geological sciences.[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] Following her Ph.D., Eigenbrode was a postdoctoral fellow at the Carnegie Institution of Washington from 2004 until 2007.[2] In 2007 she accepted a position at the National Aeronautic and Space Administration as a space scientist.[2]
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
Eigenbrode, Jennifer L.; Freeman, Katherine H. (24 October 2006). "Late Archean rise of aerobic microbial ecosystems". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 103 (43): 15759–15764. Bibcode:2006PNAS..10315759E. doi:10.1073/pnas.0607540103. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 1635076. PMID 17043234.
Ono, Shuhei; Eigenbrode, Jennifer L.; Pavlov, Alexander A.; Kharecha, Pushker; Rumble, Douglas; Kasting, James F.; Freeman, Katherine H. (1 August 2003). "New insights into Archean sulfur cycle from mass-independent sulfur isotope records from the Hamersley Basin, Australia". Earth and Planetary Science Letters. 213 (1): 15–30. Bibcode:2003E&PSL.213...15O. doi:10.1016/S0012-821X(03)00295-4. ISSN 0012-821X.
Eigenbrode, Jennifer L.; Summons, Roger E.; Steele, Andrew; Freissinet, Caroline; Millan, Maëva; Navarro-González, Rafael; Sutter, Brad; McAdam, Amy C.; Franz, Heather B.; Glavin, Daniel P.; Archer, Paul D.; Mahaffy, Paul R.; Conrad, Pamela G.; Hurowitz, Joel A.; Grotzinger, John P.; Gupta, Sanjeev; Ming, Doug W.; Sumner, Dawn Y.; Szopa, Cyril; Malespin, Charles; Buch, Arnaud; Coll, Patrice (8 June 2018). "Organic matter preserved in 3-billion-year-old mudstones at Gale crater, Mars". Science. 360 (6393): 1096–1101. Bibcode:2018Sci...360.1096E. doi:10.1126/science.aas9185. PMID 29880683. S2CID 46983230.
Awards and honors
Philips Cosminski Award, James Madison University, 1994[25]
Geological Society of America Outstanding Student Research Award, 1997[26]
NASA Goddard Innovator of the Year Award, 2009[13]
Goddard Space Flight Center Honor Award - New Opportunities Captured Team, award to the Enceladus Life Signature and Habitability (ELSAH) Mission Team, 2018[27]
Goddard Space Flight Center Honor Award for Science, 2018[2]
Pennsylvania State University 125th Anniversary fellow of the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences[28]
References
"Women at NASA: Jennifer Eigenbrode". Women at NASA. Retrieved 2020-03-07.
"Bio - Jennifer L Eigenbrode". science.gsfc.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2020-03-07.
Eigenbrode, Jennifer L (1999). Sedimentological, carbon-isotopic, and molecular records of late Holocene climate in the sediments of Soda Lake, Carrizo plain, California (Thesis). OCLC 42322638.
Eigenbrode, Jennifer L. (26 March 2004). "Late Archean Microbial Ecology: An Integration of Molecular, Isotopic, and Lithologic Studies".
Pavlov, Alexander A.; Kasting, James F.; Eigenbrode, Jennifer L.; Freeman, Katherine H. (2001-11-01). "Organic haze in Earth's early atmosphere: Source of low-13C Late Archean kerogens?". Geology. 29 (11): 1003–1006. Bibcode:2001Geo....29.1003P. doi:10.1130/0091-7613(2001)029<1003:OHIESE>2.0.CO;2. ISSN 0091-7613.
Ono, Shuhei; Eigenbrode, Jennifer L.; Pavlov, Alexander A.; Kharecha, Pushker; Rumble, Douglas; Kasting, James F.; Freeman, Katherine H. (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. 213 (1): 15–30. Bibcode:2003E&PSL.213...15O. doi:10.1016/S0012-821X(03)00295-4. ISSN 0012-821X.
Eigenbrode, Jennifer L.; Freeman, Katherine H. (2006-10-24). "Late Archean rise of aerobic microbial ecosystems". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 103 (43): 15759–15764. Bibcode:2006PNAS..10315759E. doi:10.1073/pnas.0607540103. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 1635076. PMID 17043234.
Eigenbrode, Jennifer L.; Freeman, Katherine H.; Summons, Roger E. (2008-09-15). "Methylhopane biomarker hydrocarbons in Hamersley Province sediments provide evidence for Neoarchean aerobiosis". Earth and Planetary Science Letters. 273 (3): 323–331. Bibcode:2008E&PSL.273..323E. doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2008.06.037. ISSN 0012-821X.
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. Bibcode:2009AsBio...9..455E. doi:10.1089/ast.2008.0275. ISSN 1531-1074. PMID 19496672.
Summons, Roger E.; 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. Bibcode:2011AsBio..11..157S. doi:10.1089/ast.2010.0506. hdl:1721.1/66519. ISSN 1531-1074. PMID 21417945. S2CID 9963677.
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. 170 (1): 401–478. Bibcode:2012SSRv..170..401M. doi:10.1007/s11214-012-9879-z. ISSN 1572-9672. S2CID 3759945.
Emspak,SPACE.com, Jesse. "Was There Ever Life on Mars?". Scientific American. Retrieved 2021-12-11.
"Eigenbrode Earns Chief Technologist's Top Prize, Flatley Wins an Honorable Mention". 2009-11-19. Archived from the original on 2009-11-19. Retrieved 2021-12-10.
Grotzinger, J. P.; 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. Bibcode:2014Sci...343A.386G. doi:10.1126/science.1242777. PMID 24324272. S2CID 52836398.
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. Bibcode:2014Sci...343D.386H. doi:10.1126/science.1244797. hdl:1874/309142. PMID 24324275. S2CID 33661472.
Mahaffy, Paul R.; Webster, Christopher R.; Atreya, Sushil K.; Franz, Heather; Wong, Michael; Conrad, Pamela G.; Harpold, Dan; Jones, John J.; Leshin, Laurie A.; 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. Bibcode:2013Sci...341..263M. doi:10.1126/science.1237966. PMID 23869014. S2CID 206548973.
Leshin, L. A.; 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. Bibcode:2013Sci...341E...3L. doi:10.1126/science.1238937. PMID 24072926. S2CID 206549244.
ABC News (December 9, 2013). "Curiosity Sniffing the Ground on Hunt for Martian Organic Material". ABC News. Retrieved 2021-12-11.
Eigenbrode, Jennifer L.; Summons, Roger E.; 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. 360 (6393): 1096–1101. Bibcode:2018Sci...360.1096E. doi:10.1126/science.aas9185. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 29880683. S2CID 46983230.
Voosen, Paul (2018-06-07). "NASA rover hits organic pay dirt on Mars". Science | AAAS. Retrieved 2021-01-15.
"Organic salts on Mars hint at ancient microbial life on the Red Planet". ZME Science. 2021-05-25. Retrieved 2021-12-11.
Wall, Mike (2018-06-07). "Curiosity Rover Finds Ancient 'Building Blocks for Life' on Mars". Space.com. Retrieved 2021-12-11.
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. 126 (4): e2020JE006803. Bibcode:2021JGRE..12606803L. doi:10.1029/2020JE006803. ISSN 2169-9100. S2CID 233603377.
Ashley Strickland (2 June 2021). "Organic salts could be on Mars. Here's what that means". CNN. Retrieved 2021-12-11.
"Philip R. Cosminsky Award". www.jmu.edu. Retrieved 2021-12-10.
"GSA Awards Research Grants" (PDF). GSA Today. Vol. 9, no. 9. Retrieved December 10, 2021.
"Awards Won - Computational & Information Sciences and Technology Office - 606". science.gsfc.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2021-12-10.
"125th Anniversary Fellows named by the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences | Penn State University". www.psu.edu. Retrieved 2021-12-11.
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