Astrobiologist
Dirk Schulze-Makuch (born 1964) is a professor at the Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics at the
Technical University Berlin , Germany and Adjunct Professor at the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences
Washington State University , Pullman, WA. He is best known for his publications on
extraterrestrial life , being coauthor of five books on the topic: The Cosmic Zoo: Complex Life on Many Worlds (2017), A One Way Mission to Mars: Colonizing the Red Planet (2011), We Are Not Alone: Why We Have Already Found Extraterrestrial Life (2010), Cosmic Biology: How Life could Evolve on Other Worlds (2010), and Life in the Universe: Expectations and Constraints (2004, 2008, 2018). In 2012 he published with
David Darling Megacatastrophes! Nine Strange Ways the World Could End . In 2013 he published the second edition of his science fiction novel Alien Encounter . Together with
Paul Davies he proposed in 2010 exploration of
Mars by a one-way trip to the planet.
[1]
Education and career
His upbringing was in Giessen, Germany, where he received his Diplom-Degree (M.S.) in Geology from
Justus Liebig University in 1991. In 1996 he obtained his Ph.D. in Geosciences from the
University of Wisconsin -Milwaukee. After having worked as Senior Project Hydrogeologist at Envirogen, a Princeton-based research and consulting firm, for which he investigated subsurface hydrocarbon spills, he became in 1997 Adjunct Professor at the
University of Wisconsin -La Crosse. In 1998 he joined the
University of Texas at El Paso as assistant professor, investigating microbe and chemical transport in
groundwater , and microbial interaction in a planetary environment. From there he joined
Washington State University in 2004: first as Associate Professor, since 2010 as Professor at the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, with focus on astrobiology and planetary habitability. Since 2013 he is a professor at the
Technical University Berlin (Germany) and led as Principal Investigator the European Union – funded
ERC Advanced Grant project on the “Habitability of Martian Environments” from 2013 to 2019.
[2] In 2019 he has been awarded an ERC Proof of Concept Grant.
[3]
Scientific research
Schulze-Makuch's research interests and publications range from
life beyond Earth ,
[4]
[5]
[6]
[7]
[8] including planetary protection,
[9]
[10]
hydrobiology ,
[11]
[12]
[13]
archeology ,
[14]
[15] to
cancer .
[16] To the viewer he may be best known for his work in astrobiology
[17]
[18]
[19]
[20]
[21]
[22]
[23]
[24]
[25]
in particular the possible existence of life on
Venus ,
[26]
[27]
Mars ,
[28]
[29]
[30]
[31]
[32]
[33]
[34]
[35]
Titan ,
[36]
[37]
[38]
Europa ,
[39]
[40]
[41] and
Io
.
[42]
With
Ian Crawford he proposed that microbial life may have existed temporarily on Earth´s Moon, at a time of major volcanic outgassing about 3.5 billion years ago.
[43] His book Life in the Universe (with L. N. Irwin) and his studies
[44]
[45]
[46] consider alternative physiologies for
extraterrestrial life .
Patents
Removal of Biological Pathogens Using Surfactant Modified Zeolite. Patent No. US 7,311,839 B2. Date of patent: dec. 25, 2007.
[47]
Awards
Friedrich-Wilhelm Bessel Award (2010) by the
Alexander von Humboldt Foundation .
Media activity
The work of Schulze-Makuch has received much attention. It has been the subject of TV programs on the BBC, the National Geographic and the Discovery Channel, and of numerous articles in magazines such as
New Scientist ,
The Guardian and
Der Spiegel .
Blog:
Air&Space Magazine : Life beyond Earth
[48]
Works
Academic books
Life in the Universe: Expectations and Constraints (with L.N. Irwin) (3rd ed.) (2018)
ISBN
978-3-319976570
Life in the Universe: Expectations and Constraints (with L.N. Irwin) (2nd ed.) (2008)
ISBN
978-3-540-76816-6
Life in the Universe: Expectations and Constraints (with L.N. Irwin) (2004)
ISBN
978-3-540-76816-6
Popular science books
The Cosmic Zoo (2017)
ISBN
3-319-62044-4
ISBN
978-3-319-62044-2
The Extraterrestrial Encyclopedia (2nd edition, 2016) (with D. Darling)
How To Develop The Solar System and Beyond: A Roadmap to Interstellar Space (with A. Sinclair and six more authors) (2012) ASIN B009KWNO02
Megacatastrophes! Nine Strange Ways the World Could End (with D. Darling) (2012)
ISBN
978-1-85168-905-7
A One Way Mission to Mars: Colonizing the Red Planet (with P. Davies and ten more authors; J.S. Levine, editor) (2011)
ISBN
978-0-9829552-4-6
We Are Not Alone: Why We Have Already Found Extraterrestrial Life (with D. Darling) (2010)
ISBN
978-1-85168-719-0
Cosmic Biology: How Life Could Evolve on Other Worlds (with L.N. Irwin) (2010)
ISBN
978-1-4419-1646-4
Science fiction novel
References
^
Schulze-Makuch, D.; Davies, P. (2010).
"To Boldly Go: A One-Way Human Mission to Mars" .
Journal of Cosmology . 12 : 3619–3626. Archived from
the original on October 23, 2010.
^
"Habitability of Martian Environments: Exploring the Physiological and Environmental Limits of Life" . European Research Council. Retrieved 2021-10-20 .
^
"PortPath: A Portable Device for Detecting Pathogens" . European Research Council. Retrieved 2021-10-20 .
^
Heinz, J.; Krahn, T. & Schulze-Makuch, D. (2020).
"A new record for microbial perchlorate tolerance: fungal growth in NaClO4 Brines and its implications for putative life on Mars" .
Life . 10 (5): 53.
doi :
10.3390/life10050053 .
PMC
7281446 .
PMID
32353964 .
^
Schulze-Makuch, D. & Bains, W. (2018). "Time to consider search strategies for complex life on exoplanets".
Nature Astronomy . 2 (6): 432.
Bibcode :
2018NatAs...2..432S .
doi :
10.1038/s41550-018-0476-2 .
S2CID
64692257 .
^
Bains, W.; Schulze-Makuch, D. (2016).
"The cosmic zoo: the (near) inevitability for the evolution of complex, macroscopic life" .
Life . 6 (3): 25.
doi :
10.3390/life6030025 .
PMC
5041001 .
PMID
27376334 .
^
Schulze-Makuch, D.; Schulze-Makuch, A.; Houtkooper, J. (2015).
"The physical, chemical, and physiological limits of life" .
Life . 5 (3): 1472–1486.
doi :
10.3390/life5031472 .
PMC
4598648 .
PMID
26193325 .
^
Irwin, L.N.; Mendez, A.; Fairen, A.G.; Schulze-Makuch, D. (2014).
"Assessing the Possibility of Biological Complexity on Other Worlds, with an Estimate of the Occurrence of Complex Life in the Milky Way Galaxy" .
Challenges . 5 (1): 159–174.
Bibcode :
2014Chall...5..159I .
doi :
10.3390/challe5010159 .
^
Fairén, A.G.; Schulze-Makuch, D.; Whyte, L.; Parro, V.; Pavlov, A.; Gómez-Elvira, J.; Azua-Bustos, A.; Fink, W.; Baker, V. (2019).
"Planetary protection and the astrobiological exploration of Mars: Proactive steps in moving forward" .
Advances in Space Research . 63 (5): 1491–1497.
Bibcode :
2019AdSpR..63.1491F .
doi :
10.1016/j.asr.2019.01.011 .
^ Fairen, A.G.; Schulze-Makuch, D. (2013). "The overprotection of Mars".
Nature Geoscience . 6 (7): 510.
Bibcode :
2013NatGe...6..510F .
doi :
10.1038/ngeo1866 .
^
Schulze-Makuch, D.; Haque, S.; Beckles, D.; Schmitt-Kopplin, P.; Harir, M.; Schneider, B.; Stumpp, C.; Wagner, D. (2020).
"A chemical and microbial characterization of selected mud volcanoes reveals pathogens introduced by surface water and rainwater" .
Science of the Total Environment . 707 (136087): 707.
doi :
10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.136087 .
PMID
31874397 .
S2CID
209474384 .
^
Schulze-Makuch, D.; Cherkauer, D.S. (1998). "Variations in hydraulic conductivity with scale of measurement during aquifer tests in heterogeneous, porous carbonate rocks".
Hydrogeology Journal . 6 (2): 204–215.
Bibcode :
1998HydJ....6..204S .
doi :
10.1007/s100400050145 .
S2CID
129868404 .
^
Abdel-Fattah, A.; Langford, R. & Schulze-Makuch, D. (2007). "Applications of particle-tracking techniques to bank infiltration: a case study from El Paso, Texas, USA".
Environmental Geology . 11 (3): 505.
Bibcode :
2008EnGeo..55..505A .
doi :
10.1007/s00254-007-0996-z .
S2CID
130625697 .
^
Schulze-Makuch, D. (1992). "Rammner's Current Line Perturbation Method as used to prospect in an early Roman Marching-Camp".
Journal of Applied Geosciences . 11 : 75–86.
^
Schulze-Makuch, D. (1996). "Survey of the outline of an early Roman Marching Camp in Germany by Rammner's Current Line Perturbation Method".
Journal of Archaeological Science . 23 (6): 883–887.
doi :
10.1006/jasc.1996.0083 .
^
António, M.R.S.; Schulze-Makuch, D. (2009). "The immune system as key to cancer treatment: triggering its activity with microbial agents".
Bioscience Hypotheses . 2 (6): 388–392.
doi :
10.1016/j.bihy.2009.08.003 .
^
Heinz, J.; Waajen, A.C.; Airo, A.; Alibrandi, A.; Schirmack, J.; Schulze-Makuch, D. (2019).
"Bacterial growth in chloride and perchlorate brines: Halotolerances and salt stress responses of Planococcus halocryophilus" .
Astrobiology . 19 (11): 1377–1387.
Bibcode :
2019AsBio..19.1377H .
doi :
10.1089/ast.2019.2069 .
PMC
6818489 .
PMID
31386567 .
^
Schulze-Makuch, D. (2019).
"The naked mole-rat: an unusual organism with an unexpected latent potential for advanced intelligence?" .
Life . 9 (3): 76.
doi :
10.3390/life9030076 .
PMC
6789728 .
PMID
31527499 .
^
Irwin, L.N.; Schulze-Makuch, D. (2001). "Assessing the plausibility of life on other worlds".
Astrobiology . 1 (2): 143–160.
Bibcode :
2001AsBio...1..143I .
doi :
10.1089/153110701753198918 .
PMID
12467118 .
^
Shapiro, R.S.; Schulze-Makuch, D. (2009). "The search for alien life in our solar system: strategies and priorities".
Astrobiology . 9 (4): 335–343.
Bibcode :
2009AsBio...9..335S .
doi :
10.1089/ast.2008.0281 .
PMID
19355818 .
^
Brooks, H.; Schulze-Makuch, D. (2010). "The Solar Wind Power Satellite as an alternative to a traditional Dyson Sphere and its implications for remote detection".
International Journal of Astrobiology . 9 (2): 89–99.
Bibcode :
2010IJAsB...9...89H .
doi :
10.1017/S1473550410000066 .
S2CID
122974525 .
^
António, M.R.S.; Schulze-Makuch, D. (2010). "The power of social structure: how we became an intelligent lineage".
International Journal of Astrobiology . 10 (1): 15–23.
Bibcode :
2011IJAsB..10...15D .
doi :
10.1017/s1473550410000169 .
S2CID
122961268 .
^
Schulze-Makuch, D.; Irwin, L.N. & Fairen, A.G. (2013). "Drastic environmental change and its effects on a planetary biosphere".
Icarus . 225 (1): 775.
Bibcode :
2013Icar..225..775S .
doi :
10.1016/j.icarus.2013.05.001 .
^
Schulze-Makuch, D.; Davila, A.F. (2010).
"Searching for Life Beyond our Planet: Are We There Yet?" .
Eos . 91 (32): 280.
Bibcode :
2010EOSTr..91..280S .
doi :
10.1029/2010EO320004 .
^
McKay, C.P.; Schulze-Makuch, D.; Boston, P.J.; ten Kate, I.L.; Davila, A.F. & Shocks, E. (2011). "The next phase in our search for life — An expert discussion".
Astrobiology . 11 (1): 2–8.
Bibcode :
2011AsBio..11....2M .
doi :
10.1089/ast.2010.1122 .
PMID
21294665 .
^
Schulze-Makuch, D.; Irwin, L.N. (2002). "Reassessing the possibility of life on Venus: Proposal for an Astrobiology Mission".
Astrobiology . 2 (2): 197–202.
Bibcode :
2002AsBio...2..197S .
doi :
10.1089/15311070260192264 .
PMID
12469368 .
^
Schulze-Makuch, D.; Grinspoon, D.H.; Abbas, O.; Irwin, L.N. & Bullock, M. (2004). "A sulfur-based UV adaptation strategy for putative phototrophic life in the Venusian atmosphere".
Astrobiology . 4 (1): 11–18.
Bibcode :
2004AsBio...4...11S .
doi :
10.1089/153110704773600203 .
PMID
15104900 .
^
Fairén, A.G.; et al. (2009). "Evidence for Amazonian acidic liquid water on Mars: a reinterpretation of MER mission results".
Planetary and Space Science . 57 (3): 276–287.
Bibcode :
2009P&SS...57..276F .
doi :
10.1016/j.pss.2008.11.008 .
^
Davila, A.F.; Skidmore, M.; Fairén, A.G.; Cockell, C. & Schulze-Makuch, D. (2010). "New priorities in the robotic exploration of Mars: The case for in situ search of extant life".
Astrobiology . 10 (7): 705–710.
Bibcode :
2010AsBio..10..705D .
doi :
10.1089/ast.2010.0538 .
PMID
20929400 .
^
Fairén, A.G.; et al. (2010).
"Noachian and more recent phyllosilicates in impact craters on Mars" .
PNAS . 107 (4): 12, 095–12, 100.
Bibcode :
2010PNAS..107...12C .
doi :
10.1073/pnas.0912404107 .
PMC
2824403 .
PMID
20133883 .
^ Davila, A.F.; Schulze-Makuch, D. (2016).
"The last possible outposts of life on Mars" .
Astrobiology . 16 (2): 159–168.
Bibcode :
2016AsBio..16..159D .
doi :
10.1089/ast.2015.1380 .
PMID
26836457 .
^ Schulze-Makuch, D.; et al. (2018).
"Transitory microbial habitat in the hyperarid Atacama Desert" .
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . 115 (11): 2670–2675.
Bibcode :
2018PNAS..115.2670S .
doi :
10.1073/pnas.1714341115 .
PMC
5856521 .
PMID
29483268 .
^
Montgomery, W.; Jaramillo, E.A.; Royle, S.H.; Kounaves, S.P.; Schulze-Makuch, D.; Sephton, M.A. (2019).
"Effects of Oxygen-Containing Salts on the Detection of Organic Biomarkers on Mars and in Terrestrial Analog Soils" .
Astrobiology . 19 (6): 711–721.
Bibcode :
2019AsBio..19..711M .
doi :
10.1089/ast.2018.1888 .
hdl :
10044/1/67435 .
PMID
31062993 .
^
Heinz, J.; Schulze-Makuch, D. (2020).
"Thiophenes on Mars: biotic or abiotic origin?" .
Astrobiology . 20 (4): 552–561.
Bibcode :
2020AsBio..20..552H .
doi :
10.1089/ast.2019.2139 .
PMID
32091933 .
^
Maus, D.; Heinz, J.; Schirmack, J.; Airo, A.; Kounaves, S.P.; Wagner, D.; Schulze-Makuch, D. (2020).
"Methanogenic archaea can produce methane in deliquescence-driven Mars analog environments" .
Scientific Reports . 10 (6): 6.
Bibcode :
2020NatSR..10....6M .
doi :
10.1038/s41598-019-56267-4 .
PMC
6949245 .
PMID
31913316 .
^
Schulze-Makuch, D.; Grinspoon, D.H. (2005). "Biologically Enhanced Energy and Carbon Cycling on Titan?".
Astrobiology . 5 (4): 560–567.
arXiv :
physics/0501068 .
Bibcode :
2005AsBio...5..560S .
doi :
10.1089/ast.2005.5.560 .
PMID
16078872 .
S2CID
7923827 .
^
Meckenstock, R.U.; von Netzer, F.; Stumpp, C.; Lueders, T.; Himmelberg, A.M.; Hertkorn, N.; Schmitt-Kopplin, P.; Harir, M.; Hosein, R.; Hosein, R.; Schulze-Makuch, D. (2014). "Water inclusions in oil are microhabitats for microbial life".
Science . 345 (6197): 673–676.
Bibcode :
2014Sci...345..673M .
doi :
10.1126/science.1252215 .
PMID
25104386 .
S2CID
13491492 .
^
Sohl, F.; Solomonidou, A.; Wagner, F.W.; Coustenis, A.; Hussmann, H.; Schulze-Makuch, D. (2014).
"Structural and tidal models of Titan and inferences on cryovolcanism" (PDF) .
Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets . 119 (5): 1013–1036.
Bibcode :
2014JGRE..119.1013S .
doi :
10.1002/2013JE004512 .
S2CID
59461396 .
^
Irwin, L.N.; Schulze-Makuch, D. (2003). "Strategy for modeling putative ecosystems on Europa".
Astrobiology . 3 (4): 813–821.
Bibcode :
2003AsBio...3..813I .
doi :
10.1089/153110703322736114 .
PMID
14987484 .
^
Figueredo, P.H.; Greeley, R.; Neuer, S.; Irwin, L.N. & Schulze-Makuch, D. (2003). "Locating potential biosignatures on Europa from surface geology observations".
Astrobiology . 3 (4): 851–861.
Bibcode :
2003AsBio...3..851F .
doi :
10.1089/153110703322736132 .
PMID
14987486 .
^
Abbas, S.; Schulze-Makuch, D. (2008). "Amino acid synthesis in Europa's subsurface environment".
International Journal of Astrobiology . 7 (3–4): 193–203.
Bibcode :
2008IJAsB...7..193A .
doi :
10.1017/S1473550408004114 .
S2CID
84591885 .
^ Schulze-Makuch, D. (2010).
"Io: Is life possible between fire and ice?" .
Journal of Cosmology . 5 : 912–919. Archived from
the original on February 23, 2010.
^
Schulze-Makuch, D.; Crawford, I.A. (2018).
"Was there an early habitability window for Earth´s Moon?" .
Astrobiology . 18 (8): 985–988.
Bibcode :
2018AsBio..18..985S .
doi :
10.1089/ast.2018.1844 .
PMC
6225594 .
PMID
30035616 .
^
Schulze-Makuch, D.; Irwin, L.N. (2006). "The prospect of alien life in exotic forms on other worlds".
Naturwissenschaften . 93 (4): 155–172.
Bibcode :
2006NW.....93..155S .
doi :
10.1007/s00114-005-0078-6 .
PMID
16525788 .
S2CID
3207913 .
^
Houtkooper, J.M.; Schulze-Makuch, D. (2007). "A possible biogenic origin for hydrogen peroxide on Mars: the Viking results reinterpreted".
Int. J. Astrobiol. 6 (2): 147–152.
arXiv :
physics/0610093 .
Bibcode :
2007IJAsB...6..147H .
doi :
10.1017/S1473550407003746 .
S2CID
8091895 .
^
Schulze-Makuch, D.; Schulze-Makuch, A.; Houtkooper, J. (2015).
"The physical, chemical, and physiological limits of life" .
Life . 5 (3): 1472–1486.
doi :
10.3390/life5031472 .
PMC
4598648 .
PMID
26193325 .
^
"Patent US7311839 - Removal of biological pathogens using surfactant-modified zeolite - Google Patents" . Retrieved 2013-04-22 .
^
"Life Beyond Earth" .
External links
International National Academics Other