Judging Team Member
Zach Adam
Astrobiologist
Growing up amongst the fruit orchards of the Pacific Northwest, Zach was fascinated by two things: space and machines. Eventually he moved to the city to study aerospace engineering and Earth and space sciences at the University of Washington, working as a diesel mechanic to pay his tuition. It was here that Zach was introduced to the field of astrobiology. In graduate school, he developed a theoretical basis for claiming that all life on Earth originated in natural nuclear reactors over 4 billion years ago, and that all metabolic molecules evolved from organoactinide complex precursors. He also invented the idea of biological in situ resource utilization through collaboration with the NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts. This is the idea that the first colonies on Mars can be made inherently stable if they are designed to grow through microbial uptake of key elemental resources present on the Martian surface. His current research efforts involve developing a phenomenological theory that describes evidence for the existence of gravitons and the origins of the mechanism of gravitation.
Zach is now studying the emerging capabilities of the commercial space transportation sector, noting how these capabilities may change the nature of space-based astrobiological research in the coming decades. He is a qualified launch vehicle safety inspector and duty officer for the Office of Commercial Space Transportation. In his spare time, he is helping to develop an Earth and space sciences education network for young people across Central Asia (www.bullsandmosquitoes.info).
Zach loves space education, and has dedicated his life to using space to break down barriers of the human condition.