Lynn Justine Rothschild (born May 11, 1957) is an

evolutionary biologist Evolutionary biology is the subfield of biology that studies the evolutionary processes (natural selection, common descent, speciation) that produced the diversity of life on Earth. It is also defined as the study of the history of life for ...

and

astrobiologist Astrobiology, and the related field of exobiology, is an interdisciplinary scientific field that studies the origins, early evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe. Astrobiology is the multidisciplinary field that inves ...

at NASA's

Ames Research Center The Ames Research Center (ARC), also known as NASA Ames, is a major NASA research center at Moffett Federal Airfield in California's Silicon Valley. It was founded in 1939 as the second National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) labo ...

, and was a consulting Professor at Stanford University, where she taugh
Astrobiology and Space Exploration
She is an adjunct professor at Brown University. At Ames, her research has focused on how life, particularly microbes, has evolved in the context of the physical environment, both on Earth and potentially beyond our planet's boundaries. Since 2007 she has studied the effect of

UV radiation Ultraviolet (UV) is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelength from 10 nm (with a corresponding frequency around 30 PHz) to 400 nm (750 THz), shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays. UV radiation i ...

on DNA synthesis, carbon metabolism and mutation/DNA repair in the

Rift Valley A rift valley is a linear shaped lowland between several highlands or mountain ranges created by the action of a geologic rift. Rifts are formed as a result of the pulling apart of the lithosphere due to extensional tectonics. The linear d ...

of Kenya and the Bolivian Andes, and also in high altitude experiments atop

Mount Everest Mount Everest (; Tibetic languages, Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is List of highest mountains on Earth, Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border ru ...

, in balloon payloads with BioLaunch. Currently she is the principal investigator of a synthetic biology payload on an upcoming satellite mission.

Filmography

Rothschild appeared on the 5th episode of the Youtube Original "The Age of A.I." in the episode called "How A.I. is searching for Aliens", released on January 15, 2020. She is credited as "Evolutionary and Synthetic Biology, NASA".

References

External links

Horace Mann Medal, Brown UniversityIsaac Asimov Award, American Humanist AssociationProfile for Solar System ExplorationAstrobiology and Space Explorationastrobiology.nasa.govProfile at BrownCourse Lectures Winter 2010 on Stanford iTunes
* * Part of the Silicon Valley Astronomy Lecture Series * Motherboard, 2017 {{DEFAULTSORT:Rothschild, Lynn J. American women biologists 21st-century American biologists Living people Brown University alumni 1957 births Astrobiologists 21st-century American women scientists