Hi there! I’m Jamie.

Although it has always interested me immensely, the extent of my astronomy experience all but ends with stargazing, albeit quite extensive stargazing. It’s always been amazing for me on backcountry camping, hiking, and mountaineering trips to look up at the stars at night, especially in the backcountry with little light pollution to detract from their fullness and luminosity, and just imagine, well… that I knew more about what I was looking at I suppose. I’ve always been able to pick out some of the more obvious constellations, but beyond a rather basic high school education on physical science and the solar system, that is about it.

I’m currently attending Colorado College and plan on majoring in Biology. I’ve always had an interest in the natural sciences and what makes humans human, plants plant, and life the crazy mashup of biological factors that it is that allows us the existence that we have come into. I’m particularly interested in the origin of this crazy interconnectedness, otherwise known as evolution.

I was born and raised in Essex, Vermont, and I don’t know that there’s any place that I love more.

Mt. Mansfield, VT

Growing up in the wonderful, outdoorsy setting of the state, I have always felt like the outdoors and environment have played a big part in my life, which I continue to feel although I’m no longer in VT. That connection has led me in more recent years to start taking advantage of the outdoors climbing, biking, mountaineering, and snowboarding.

Me on the right, by the way…

I hope to continue this strong interest and connection to the outdoors as I move into the future and to bring elements of my academic life, such as my interest in biology, into this part of my life.

As I said, my primary academic interest lies in biology, so my primary goal in this course is to look at the idea of life and what makes it possible from a different viewpoint than is traditionally found in most biology courses. The idea of analyzing ALL of the factors involved in life, and not just the biological ones, seems very interesting to me and is something that I look forward to doing. Also, the focus on astronomy and life-indicating factors throughout the universe is a big pull. I mean, c’mon. Aliens? What could be more interesting. But seriously, I do hope to be challenged to look at sciences that are familiar to me in a different light as other factors are added to the picture.

One topic in astronomy that interests me in particular is the search for markers of the potential for life on other planets, such as the discoveries on Mars relating to water and the potential availability of compounds necessary for life to exist. Like I’ve said before, it’s kind of all about the biology for me.

http://www.nature.com/ngeo/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/ngeo1923.html