Yi-Jehng Kuan

(National Taiwan Normal University)

At an altitude of 5,000 m, ALMA is the largest ground‐based astronomical observing facilities existent. Consist of 66 12‐m and 7‐m antennas, ALMA acts as a single telescope with variable diameters of 150 m to 16 km. ALMA is designed to address some of the most profound questions of our cosmic origins including the origins of life itself.

Are we alone? Our research projects this summer will be mainly based on our ALMA data acquired recently in 2017 and 2018 on:

1) Identification of subsurface oceans and search for potential signatures of life on icy Solar‐System bodies. By using ALMA to measure the salinity/chlorinity and the oxidation state on icy bodies in our Solar System, we will advance our knowledge of the habitability (適居性) of these icy worlds, including Saturnian moon Enceladus and the dwarf planet Ceres, significantly.

2) Search for prebiotically important complex organic molecules, in particular pyrimidine (嘧啶), in hot molecular cores. Pyrimidine, the building block of nucleic acid (核酸), has been detected in meteorites and is hence a key molecule for astrobiology. Although the formation of prebiotic molecules in extraterrestrial environment and their contribution to the origin of life remains unsettled, the connection between interstellar organic chemistry, meteoritic pyrimidines, and the emergence of life on the early Earth would be strengthened with the discovery of interstellar pyrimidine.

We’d like to identify up to three talented students who are interested in astrophysical study on the origins of life in the universe. We welcome devoted students who have a strong interest in astronomical research. Please note, academic backgrounds in chemistry, life science, or biology are NOT required.