Professor Suzanna Widicus Weaver and Assistant Professor Zoe Todd from the Department of Chemistry, along with seven co-PIs have won a Research Forward 2024 Award for a project entitled “Searching for signs of life in exoplanet Hycean Worlds.” According to the research outline, “This is one of the most fundamental questions faced by humanity,” and the team proposes to answer it. “Like Earth, life on planets outside the solar system likely needs liquid water. Of the 5,500 exoplanets discovered so far, about 60 sit in a ‘habitable zone’ where liquid water is possible. Notable among these are Hycean Worlds – exoplanets with liquid water oceans and hydrogen atmospheres.”
This collaborative effort is the first proposal from members of the new Wisconsin Center for Origins Research, WiCOR, which is slated to launch in Fall 2024.
