People: Astrobiology Graduate Students

John Kirkpatrick
Oceanography

I first became interested in astrobiology during a summer internship in 1998 when I read about the formation of this "Astrobiology Institute" from a magazine clipping mailed to me. Well, I took the scenic route to get here, but I never forgot what I wanted to do. I am now an Astrobiology and Oceanography grad student at the UW.

My research has to do with the phylogeny and metabolism of bacteria that live in anaerobic environments. I work with Jim Murray and Jim Staley to better understand the kinds of reactions that happen in microaerobic and anaerobic portions of the Black Sea. The Black Sea, which is predominantly anaerobic, can basically be looked at as a modern sliver of the ancient Earth-- and thus a window into how life evolved in Earth's ancient oceans, and what life might be like on an ocean world. Astrobiology, right here in our backyard! Most of my research is investigating N cycling, using both culture and non-culture techniques to get at the interplay between denitrification and anammox, and how these processes intersect with C and S cycles. I'm also very interested in Europa and upcoming missions there (who isn't?).