Astrochemistry Laboratory
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Jason P. Dworkin
Astrochemistry Laboratory
NASA/GSFC, Code 691 Greenbelt, MD 20771 Phone: (301) 286-8631 Email: Jason Dworkin |
Current Position:
Lab Chief, Astrochemistry Laboratory
Education:
1991 - A.B. (Biochemistry, with Distinction) Occidental College
1997 - Ph.D. (Biochemistry) University of California, San Diego (UCSD)
Research Area Experience:
Origin of life, Exobiology, Astrobiology, Analytical chemistry, Chemical kinetics.
Honors:
2007: Goddard Exceptional Achievement Award
2007: Goddard IRAD Innovator of the Year Award (Team), VAPoR
2007: Goddard Center Director.s Team Recognition Award, OSIRIS
2007: Distinguished Performance Award, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
2004, 2005, 2006: Performance Award, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
2004: National Academy of Sciences, Beckman Frontiers of Science Symposium Participant
2002: NASA Group Achievement Award
1998-2002, 2003- : Member NASA Astrobiology Institute
1996-1997: NSCORT Exobiology Adjunct Fellow
1992-1996: NSCORT Exobiology Pre-doctoral Fellow
1991: Merck Award for Best Graduating Biochemistry Major, Occidental College
Professional Societies:
American Chemical Society
International Society for the Study of the Origin of Life (www editor 2001-2007)
Alpha Chi Sigma
Jason Dworkin is responsible for the research direction of the Astrobiology Analytical Laboratory. Since arriving at Goddard in 2002 he has worked to purchase and maintain the equipment in the lab and ensure that all who work there maximize their research efforts while maintaining relevance to Astrobiology and NASA.
He first formally pursued his interest in the origin of life at Mirabeau B. Lamar High School (Houston, TX) when in the course of a science fair project (under the influence of PBS's NOVA) he began work at the University of Houston in the Department of Biochemical and Biophysical Sciences & Biology under Professor John Oró. He received his A.B. degree with distinction in 1991 in biochemistry from Occidental College in Los Angeles, CA. i His research there was under the guidance of Professor Chris Craney on the cryokinetics of human erythrocyte glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase. He attended graduate school at the University of California, San Diego (San Diego, CA) in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry in the laboratory of Professor Stanley Miller. He received his Ph.D. in 1997 with the dissertation "Alternatives to Uracil in the Pre-RNA World." He previoulsy was a research scientist at NASA's Ames Research Center through a cooperative agreement with the SETI Institute, where he worked in the Astrochemistry Lab within the Ames NAI Node.
Selected Publications
+ Abridged CV
Press Releases
+ Reinvestigation of Stanley Miller's Experiments, 2008, PDF of Johnson et al. 2008
+ Nucleobases in meteorites, 2008, PDF of Martins et al. 2008
+ OSIRIS Discovery Mission Concept Study, 2007
+ Amines in Stardust, 2006, PDF of Sandford et al., 2006
+ NUGGET instrument concept, 2005
+ Amino acids from lab ices, 2002, PDF of Bernstein et al., 2002
+ Membranes from lab ices, 2001, PDF of Dworkin et al., 2001
