Chemical Kinetics as a Window into Prebiotic Plausibility

Speaker: Dr Skyla White
Series: Centre for Atmospheric Science seminars, Chemistry Dept.
Also open online: the joining details are on the talk's page.

Abstract: Research into the origin of life requires collaboration across multiple disciplines, yet progress is often limited by the lack of effective methods for integrating interdisciplinary knowledge. As a result, a lot of work has focused on making life’s building blocks without fully considering the broader environmental context. Chemical kinetics can help bridge this gap. By measuring reaction rate constants, we can see how quickly reactions proceed under different conditions and explore the outcomes of these chemical pathways in planetary environments. In this talk, I will show how kinetic data can be used to develop tools for evaluating the likelihood of reactions in specific environments. By identifying which reactions could have occurred, these tools will allow us to predict which chemical species might be preserved in the geological record, helping to guide future space missions.

Biography: Skyla White is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Space and Habitability at the University of Bern. She recently completed her PhD in Physics at the University of Cambridge, following a Master’s degree in Geochemistry from the University of St Andrews and a Bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry from the University of Warwick. Her research focuses on exploring the environmental context of different prebiotic reaction networks. In particular, she is interested in developing cross-disciplinary tools and approaches to investigate the origins of life.