THE FRONTIERS OF LIFE
June 23 to 27, 2025
The third OHP (Observatoire de Haute Provence) International Summer School, organized by Aix-Marseille University's Origins Institute, will explore the notion of life, from its definition to the conditions of its emergence, diversity and evolution. These fundamental questions will be examined through lectures given by internationally recognized experts in prebiotic chemistry, microbiology, exobiology, planetology, astrophysics, as well as philosophy and law. These lectures will be followed by round-table discussions moderated by an award-winning science journalist, and ample free time for more in-depth exchanges between participants.
The program will provide a broad, interdisciplinary illustration of the frontiers of life, reviewing current knowledge and competing theories, covering all spatial and temporal scales.
In addition to stimulating individual reflection on the definition of life, this summer school also aims to attract young scientists to this multifaceted field of research.
Program:
- Introduction: the difficult definition of life
- Before life: prebiotic chemistry and the geochemical origin of metabolisms
- Life on the frontier: the special case of viruses
- Exobiology: in search of biosignatures
- Habitability: effect of magnetic fields
- Exoplanets: detecting them, modeling them
- Law, Space, Environment
- Extreme environments: life everywhere and its evolution
Lecturers :
Chantal Abergel, Mélanie Baroni, James Bradley, Jean-Michel Claverie, Magali Deleuil, Simon Duval, David Ehrenreich, Gaël Erauso, Vincent Hue, Frédéric Laurie, Dominique Leglu, Martina Preiner, Pascal Taranto, Nicolas Thouveny and others...
Rocky Worlds 4 Conference
Groningen, Netherlands, from 19-23 January 2026
Scope:
Applying the detailed empirical understanding gleaned from the terrestrial planets of our own Solar System is crucial in our interpretation of exoplanetary systems. With the ongoing and upcoming surveys to search for small planets around nearby stars, we can anticipate huge growth in the number and information on detected rocky exoplanets in the coming decades. As the characterisation of these new planetary systems proceeds it will in turn improve understanding of our own Solar System, and in particular of how potentially habitable Earth-like planets form, evolve, and are distributed throughout the galaxy. The Rocky Worlds Meeting Series brings together planetary scientists, astronomers, and earth scientists to foster discussion and build the collaborations that will pave the way for the next frontiers of rocky exoplanet discovery and characterisation.
Confirmed Keynote speakers :
Hannah Diamond-Lowe (STScI) – Atmospheres
Lena Noack (FU Berlin) – Astrobiology
Charles-Édouard Boukaré (York University) – Interiors
Heike Rauer (DLR Berlin) – Instrumentation
Mariana Sanchez (Leiden University) – Formation: astronomical perspective
Damanveer Grewal (Yale) – Formation: geochemical perspective
SOC :
Tim Lichtenberg, Yamila Miguel, Oliver Shorttle, Amy Bonsor, Inga Kamp, Quentin Changeat, Inge Loes ten Kate, Floris van der Tak, Wim van Westrenen, Nienke van der Marel, Ignas Snellen, Jean-Michel Desert, Michiel Min, Stephanie Cazaux
Abstract and Registration Timeline:
1 Jun 2025: Abstract submission opens
1 Sep 2025: Registration opens
14 Sep 2025: Abstract submission deadline
Oct 2025: Programme announcement
14 Nov 2025: Early-bird registration deadline
14 Dec 2025: Registration deadline
19-23 Jan 2026: Rocky Worlds 4 in Groningen