Lynn J. Rothschild facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Lynn Justine Rothschild
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | May 11, 1957 |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Yale University (BS), Indiana University (MA), Brown University (PhD) |
| Known for | Extremophiles at NASA, and founding the synthetic biology program for NASA |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Biology |
| Institutions | NASA’s Ames Research Center, Brown, Stanford, UC Santa Cruz |
| Thesis | Assessment of evolutionary relationships among protistan phyla and a blue-green prokaryote by comparison of the enzyme ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase. (1985) |
| Doctoral advisor | Annette W. Coleman |
| Other academic advisors | Tracy Sonneborn, Susan Gerbi |
Lynn Justine Rothschild (born May 11, 1957) is a scientist at NASA's Ames Research Center. She is an expert in how life evolves, the study of life in space (astrobiology), and engineering tiny living things (synthetic biology). She is also a professor at Brown University and Stanford University, where she teaches about astrobiology and space exploration.
Rothschild's work at NASA focuses on how life, especially tiny organisms called microbes, has changed over time. She studies this on Earth and thinks about how it could happen on other planets. She also uses synthetic biology to create tools for space travel. For example, she is working on a project to use fungi to build habitats on the Moon or Mars.
She has done research in extreme places like the Rift Valley in Kenya and high in the Andes mountains. She has even sent experiments up on high-altitude balloons. Rothschild was the main scientist for the first synthetic biology experiment to fly freely in space on a satellite.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Lynn Rothschild was born in New York City on May 11, 1957. Her interest in science started in the third grade when she looked through a microscope for the first time. She saw a tiny single-celled creature called an amoeba and was instantly fascinated. From that day on, she knew she wanted to study tiny living things.
Rothschild went to Yale University and studied biology. After Yale, she earned a master's degree from Indiana University. She then went to Brown University for her Ph.D., which is the highest degree in a field of study. At Brown, she studied how certain parts of plant cells evolved. After earning her Ph.D. in 1985, she studied the DNA of yeast.
Career and Research at NASA
In 1987, Rothschild began working at NASA's Ames Research Center. She started as a researcher and later became a Senior Scientist. Her work has helped NASA understand how life might survive in space.
Using Biology to Explore Space
Rothschild is a leader in the field of synthetic biology at NASA. This field involves changing the DNA of organisms to make them do useful things. One of her most exciting projects is called "Mycotecture." This project explores using fungi to grow building materials for habitats on the Moon and Mars. This could help astronauts build shelters during long space missions.
She also served as an advisor for student teams in a competition called iGEM. These teams used synthetic biology to solve problems for space exploration. Some of their cool projects included:
- Making a drone that can break down naturally (biodegrade).
- Using biology to mine for useful materials on other planets.
- Creating living electrical wires called "BioWires."
Studying Life in Extreme Places
Rothschild has studied how life survives in very harsh conditions. She is especially interested in how ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun affects life. UV rays can be harmful, but she thinks they might have played an important role in how life first evolved on Earth. Understanding how tiny organisms protect themselves from UV radiation on Earth can help scientists look for life on other planets like Mars.
She has also studied microbial mats, which are thick layers of microbes. She sees them as a model for what early life on Earth might have looked like. By studying these mats in places like Baja California, Mexico, and in the hot springs of Yellowstone National Park, she gets clues about how life could exist in extreme environments, including on other planets.
Awards and Honors
Lynn Rothschild has received many awards for her work.
- She has been chosen five times for a NASA award for advanced and creative ideas (NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts).
- In 2015, Brown University gave her the Horace Mann Medal, calling her a "pioneer in Astrobiology."
- The same year, she received the Isaac Asimov Science Award from the American Humanist Association.
- She is a fellow of several science groups, including the Linnean Society of London and the California Academy of Sciences.
Film and Media Appearances
Rothschild has shared her knowledge in many TV shows and films. She has also given TED Talks about using living technology to help humans explore space.
She has appeared as a science expert in shows like:
- The Age of A.I.
- Nova
- Living Universe
- Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman
- The Universe
