NASA, Library of Congress Establish Honorary Astrobiology Chair
WASHINGTON -- NASA and the Library of Congress have established
the Baruch S. Blumberg NASA-Library of Congress chair in
Astrobiology at the Library's scholarly research organization,
the John W. Kluge Center in Washington. The chair is named for
the late Nobel Laureate and founding director of the NASA
Astrobiology Institute, Baruch "Barry" Blumberg. Astrobiology is
the study of the origins, evolution, distribution and future of
life in the universe. Astrobiology addresses three fundamental
questions: How did life begin and evolve? Is there life
elsewhere? What is the future of life on Earth and beyond?
Blumberg was awarded the 1976 Nobel Prize in physiology or
medicine for discovery of the Hepatitis B virus and development
of a vaccine to prevent Hepatitis B infection. He served as the
NASA Astrobiology Institute director from 1999 to 2002. The
institute's mission is to promote interdisciplinary research in
astrobiology, train the next generati