Research projects
The Centre supports yearly research projects that foster joint interdisciplinary collaborations between COPL Members, ideally from different disciplines. Currently, there are five projects that have been selected for funding.
Ongoing Projects
2024
Investigating the co-evolution of planets and life
PI: Loïc Pellissier (D-USYS)
Co-I: Anna Lewkowicz (D-USYS), Sean Willett (D-EAPS), Paul Tackley (D-EAPS)
This project investigates the feedback between Earth’s physical processes and the evolution of life using advanced simulations, integrating geodynamics, climate, surface processes, and biological evolution to assess how Earth’s interior influences photosynthetic life and how these organisms, in turn, reshape planetary dynamics. Learn more.
PI: Paolo Sossi (D-EAPS)
Co-I: Nico Küter, Maggie Thompson (D-EAPS)
This project investigates how stellar ultraviolet light transforms simple atmospheric molecules like methane into more complex species that could have served as feedstocks for prebiotic chemistry, aiming to experimentally quantify reaction pathways, rates, and isotopic signatures, and to assess their detectability in ancient rocks and planetary atmospheres. Learn more.
2023
Evolution and Diversity of Super-Earth Atmospheres
PI: Caroline Dorn (D-PHYS)
Co-I: Paul Tackley (D-EAPS), Marilina Valatsou (D-PHYS)
This project explores the evolutionary paths of super-Earths by quantifying how their radii, atmospheric compositions, and surface conditions change over time, with a focus on the formation and persistence of water oceans as a key factor for planetary habitability. Learn more.
Investigations into the diversity of cell-cell associations and non-standard life using metagenomics and cryogenic electron microscopy
PI: Cara Magnabosco (D-EAPS)
Co-Is: Martin Pilhofer (D-BIOL), Vasil Gaisin (D-BIOL)
This project builds on the “Genomics Revolution,” which has uncovered new groups of microorganisms that inform deep evolutionary relationships and metabolic pathways, while less than 1% of this diversity has been directly observed and their interactions remain largely unknown. To help bridge this gap, we apply metagenomic and cryogenic electron microscopy analyses to investigate the diversity, prevalence, and genetic markers of cell–cell interactions in samples from early Earth analog environments. Learn more.
Quantifying the prospects for characterizing habitable and inhabited terrestrial exoplanets with future observations
PI: Sascha Quanz (D-PHYS)
Co-I: Derek Vance (D-EAPS)
This project investigates how the Large Interferometer For Exoplanets (LIFE), a Swiss-led future exoplanet mission, can contribute to the long-term goal of identifying habitable planets beyond the Solar System and searching for extraterrestrial life, specifically by quantifying how well remotely detectable signatures need to be measured to conclude that an exoplanet is habitable or inhabited. Learn more.