Astrobiologist of the Month

CHARLES COCKELL

“I'm a scientist with diverse interests that always seem to bring me back to biological sciences and space exploration. My research interests cover life in extreme environments, the habitability of extraterrestrial environments, and space biology, using laboratory, field, orbital and other space platforms to investigate fundamental and applied questions.”

Position
Professor of Astrobiology at the University of Edinburgh

Career Pathway
I received my doctorate in molecular biophysics from the University of Oxford, and a BSc from the University of Bristol. Prior to my association with the University of Edinburgh, I was a professor of geomicrobiology at The Open University and a research scientist at the British Antarctic Survey. I held a National Research Council (NRC) Associateship at the NASA Ames Research Centre and a visiting scholarship at Stanford University.

I  have published many scientific papers and academic volumes, a number of popular science books and an undergraduate-level textbook Astrobiology: Understanding Life in the Universe with Wiley-Blackwell, which is in its second edition. My most recent popular science book is with Harvard University Press (Taxi from Another Planet: Conversations with Drivers about Life in the Universe, 2022). It's a set of essays about life in the universe seen through the lens of conversations with taxi drivers.

I also have an interest in the political philosophy of societies beyond Earth (My most recent book is Interplanetary Liberty: Building Free Societies in the Cosmos with Oxford University Press, 2022). I also run a prison education programme with the Scottish Prison Service, Life Beyond, which engages prisoners in the design of extraterrestrial settlements. Participants have published two books on lunar and Mars station designs from their work. Fundamentally I have come into astrobiology from a bioscience background.

Research Topics
My research interests cover life in extreme environments, the habitability of extraterrestrial environments, and space biology, using laboratory, field, orbital and other space platforms to investigate fundamental and applied questions.

Why did you decide to become an Astrobiologist?
I always had a fascination for questions and interests at the interface between space and biology and so astrobiology provided that opportunity to bring those two areas together professionally. When I did my PhD, astrobiology did not exist. It was my postdoctoral fellowship at NASA Ames that allowed me to move more fully into astrobiology. 

If your lab/research group had a nickname, what would it be?
Space Critters

Are you accepting students?
Sometimes when positions become available.