Astrobiology Analytical Laboratory - Dr. Daniel P. Glavin
Dr. Glavin is an astrobiologist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), with a research emphasis in organic chemistry
and meteorite analysis. Dr. Glavin became a NASA civil servant in 2004 and is currently working on the development and testing
of the derivatization protocol to be used by the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) gas chromatograph mass spectrometer instrument
that was selected for the 2009 NASA Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission. He obtained a B.S. in Physics from the University
of California at San Diego in 1996 and then went on to receive his Ph.D. in Earth Science from the Scripps Institution of
Oceanography in 2001 where he investigated the sublimation of amino acids from meteorite grains as a potential survival mechanism
for amino acids in micrometeorites and interplanetary dust particles during atmospheric entry. He also developed extraction
protocols for the analysis of extraterrestrial amino acids in a variety of carbonaceous chondrites, Antarctic micrometeorites,
lunar and martian meteorites using liquid chromatography time of flight mass spectrometry. After obtaining his Ph.D, Dr. Glavin
worked as a post-doc at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in Mainz, Germany and was also a member of the 2002-03 Antarctic
Search for Meteorites (ANSMET) team.
Dr. Glavin is currently leading several projects at GSFC including the development of a miniature pyrolysis mass spectrometer
instrument for the analysis of water and other volatiles on the Moon, an Exobiology study to investigate the distribution and
isotopic composition of purines and pyrimidines in carbonaceous chondrites, and a Cosmochemistry proposal to analyze amino acids
in interplanetary dust particles and comet samples returned by the Stardust mission. He is also principal investigator of the
NAI-funded Astrobiology Sample Analysis Program (ASAP) to study the mineralogy, isotopes, organic chemistry, and microbiology
of martian analog materials using state-of-the-art laboratory and flight instrumentation. In his spare time, he enjoys playing
softball, flying with his wife and co-pilot Florence, and traveling to exotic destinations.
Dr. Glavin's CV
is here (Adobe pdf format).
