Funding Source: NSF (CHE-1955215) – The overarching goal of my research is to provide insight into whether electrons or photons or both created life. My apparatus at Wellesley College, designed and built with help from Wellesley College undergraduate collaborators, is one of three in the World that can directly compare electron- and photon-induced reactions in condensed matter. Such experiments are important because the energetic processing of interstellar ice mantles and planetary atmospheres via radiation chemistry and photochemistry is a critical mechanism in the extraterrestrial synthesis of prebiotic molecules whose delivery via comets may have kickstarted “Lyfe” on Earth. This summer, we will make operational a custom-designed helium cryostat that will allow us to attain temperatures as low as 10 K to simulate interstellar ices better. Our multipronged experimental approach will provide a more detailed understanding of how prebiotic molecules are synthesized in cosmic ices surrounding interstellar dust grains found near star-forming regions of the universe. Such studies may help us better understand the initial stages of the genesis of life.

Department: Chemistry