[spsp-members] FW: 2024 Blumberg Chair Call for Applications

Bauchspies, Wenda wbauchsp at nsf.gov
Thu Sep 5 08:02:04 UTC 2024



Dear Colleague:



I write to invite you to consider applying to the Baruch S. Blumberg NASA/Library of Congress Chair in Astrobiology, Exploration, and Scientific Innovation or to pass this invitation on to a qualified colleague.



As a partnership between NASA's Astrobiology Program and the Library of Congress, the Blumberg Chair, an annually selected position, supports a scholar in the sciences, humanities, or social sciences to take up residence in the Library's John W. Kluge Center.



The Blumberg Chair provides an opportunity for high-level scholarship to understand the interface between human society and the scientific exploration of the cosmos. In the spirit of Barry Blumberg, whose life and work spanned multiple disciplines, the Blumberg Program is interested in the concept of exploration broadly defined to include any aspect of space exploration within the parameters of NASA's mission to "reveal the unknown for the benefit of humankind." The program is most interested in proposals that consider the philosophical, humanistic, legal, ethical, and policy dimensions of exploration.



Within the parameters of NASA's mission, a chair might also seek to investigate how innovative quests for fundamental understanding may lead to major developments for the betterment of society. Barry Blumberg, for whom the Chair is named, conducted groundbreaking research addressing a simple but fundamental question: Why do some people get sick while others, exposed to the same environment, remain healthy? That this work unexpectedly led to the discovery of the hepatitis B virus, the development of a vaccine, and the awarding of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine illustrates the potential for unconventional thinking about fundamental questions to yield great rewards. Using methodologies from the history and sociology of science, the philosophy of science, legal, political, and cultural history, and other disciplines, a Chair might study and tell the story of how a basic research initiative led to unexpected discoveries and applications.



Possibilities for research subjects are many and wide-ranging in scope. The following potential topics of research are meant to inspire, not limit, your creativity:



*        legal issues related to governance of planets and space;

*        within the parameters of NASA's mission, "high risk, high reward" initiatives from a historical, legal, philosophical, or ethical perspective or one that draws on several disciplinary modes of analysis;

*        ethical implications of cross-contamination;

*        scientific and philosophical definitions of life;

*        conceptions of the origins of life in theistic and non-theistic religions;

*        comparison of the discussion of these issues in multiple nations and cultures;

*        life's collective future-for humans and other life, on Earth and beyond;

*        impacts on life and future evolutionary trajectories that may result from both natural events and human-directed activities.



Located in the Library's magnificent Jefferson Building, the Kluge Center offers a rich intellectual atmosphere for informal discussion and exchange of perspectives.



Completed applications are due by December 1, 2024. For further information, please consult the Center's webpage: https://www.loc.gov/programs/john-w-kluge-center/chairs-fellowships/chairs/blumberg-nasa-chair-in-astrobiology/. Note that the application does not require letters of reference.



We invite you to disseminate information about the Chair widely, to your colleagues, academic departments, and personal networks. Thank you for your assistance in this matter.



With my good wishes.



Sincerely,



Kevin Butterfield

Director

The John W. Kluge Center



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