LExEN, an acronym for Life in Extreme Environments, is a research program overseen by the
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National ...
.
[Limits Of Life On Earth: Are They The Key To Life On Other Planets?](_blank)
/ref> It was originally developed by G. Michael Purdy
Graham Michael "Mike" Purdy is a British geophysicist and oceanographer who specializes in marine seismology. He retired as the Executive Vice President for Research at Columbia University on 1 January 2020. Previously, he was the Director of Co ...
in 1997 as an area of research in which scientists could seek funding for activities in the polar regions. Participating were the Directorates for Biological Sciences, Mathematical and Physical Sciences, Engineering, Geosciences, and the Office of Polar Programs of the National Science Foundation. The program sought to place a strong emphasis upon those life-supporting environments that exist near the extremes of planetary conditions. The study of extreme habitats, both planetary and extra-planetary, was underpinned by the idea that "deep understanding of certain earth-bound microbial systems would provide important insights into life-sustaining processes and the origin of life on our own planet, while illuminating the search for life in other planetary environments."[EXECUTIVE SUMMARY](_blank)
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In 1999 it was announced that the future of LExEN was still under consideration but despite the lack of research in the topic, the program no longer appears on the NSF A-Z Index of Funding Opportunities.National science Foundation where Discovery Begins
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LExEN Award Winners
*Jan P. Amend Washington University in St. Louis
Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University i ...
Growth Media for Hyperthermophiles: Geochemical Constraints on Realistic Carbon and Energy Sources in Shallow Marine Hydrothermal Systems
*Ariel D. Anbar University of Rochester
The University of Rochester (U of R, UR, or U of Rochester) is a private university, private research university in Rochester, New York. The university grants Undergraduate education, undergraduate and graduate degrees, including Doctorate, do ...
Biogenic Fractionations of Transition Metal Isotopes: Novel Methods for the Examination of Life in Extreme Environments
*Douglas H. Bartlett Scripps Institution of Oceanography
The Scripps Institution of Oceanography (sometimes referred to as SIO, Scripps Oceanography, or Scripps) in San Diego, California, US founded in 1903, is one of the oldest and largest centers for ocean and Earth science research, public servi ...
Characterization of the Upper Pressure Limits for Microbial Life
*Don K. Button University of Alaska
The University of Alaska System is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Alaska. It was created in 1917 and comprises three separately accredited universities on 19 campuses. The system serves nearly 30,000 full- and part-time stu ...
Characteristics of Bacteria Native to Extremely Dilute Environments
*David A. Caron Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI, acronym pronounced ) is a private, nonprofit research and higher education facility dedicated to the study of marine science and engineering.
Established in 1930 in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, i ...
Protistan Biodiversity in Antarctic Marine Ecosystems: Molecular Biological and Traditional Approaches
*James P. Cowen University of Hawaii
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...
Collaborative Research: Development of Capability to Measure Proxides of Microbial Activity Within Ocean Crust
*Christian H. Fritsen Montana State University
Montana State University (MSU) is a public land-grant research university in Bozeman, Montana. It is the state's largest university. MSU offers baccalaureate degrees in 60 fields, master's degrees in 68 fields, and doctoral degrees in 35 fiel ...
Collaborative Research: Microbial Life within the Extreme Environment Posed by Permanent Antarctic Lake Ice
*John E. Hobbie Marine Biological Laboratory
The Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) is an international center for research and education in biological and environmental science. Founded in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, in 1888, the MBL is a private, nonprofit institution that was independent ...
Ecology of Microbial Systems in Extreme Environments: The Role of Nanoflagellates in Cold and Nutrient-Poor Arctic Freshwaters
*Holger W. Jannasch Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI, acronym pronounced ) is a private, nonprofit research and higher education facility dedicated to the study of marine science and engineering.
Established in 1930 in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, i ...
New Physiological and Phylogenetic Types of Hyperthermophiles at Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vents
*Eric L.N. Jensen Arizona State University
Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in t ...
Prospects for Life on Planets in Binary Star Systems
* James F. Kasting The Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855 as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, Penn State became ...
. Collaborative Research: Methanogenesis and the Climate of Early Mars
*Douglas N. C. Lin Douglas N. C. Lin (born May 7, 1949) is professor of astronomy and astrophysics at the University of California, Santa Cruz. He was born in New York and grew up in Beijing. He earned his BSc from McGill University, his PhD from the Institute of Ast ...
University of California
The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Fran ...
Habitable Planets and Satellites in the Outer Solar System
*Derek R. Lovley University of Massachusetts
The University of Massachusetts is the five-campus public university system and the only public research system in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The university system includes five campuses (Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth, Lowell, and a medi ...
Fe (III)-and Humics-Reducing Microorganisms in Extreme Environments
*George W. Luther University of Delaware
The University of Delaware (colloquially UD or Delaware) is a public land-grant research university located in Newark, Delaware. UD is the largest university in Delaware. It offers three associate's programs, 148 bachelor's programs, 121 m ...
Collaborative Research: Pyrite, a Crucial Mineral and Surface for Microbial Life in Extreme Hydro thermal Environments
* Tullis C. Onstott Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the n ...
A Window Into the Extreme Environment of Deep Subsurface Microbial Communities: Witwatersrand Deep Microbiology Project
*Frederick A. Rainey Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...
Combining Culturing and Non-Culturing Approaches for the Isolation of Prokaryotes from a Hyper Arid Desert Environment
*William S. Reeburgh University of California
The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Fran ...
Experimental Studies on Hydrogen Biogeochemistry in Anoxic Environments
*John N. Reeve
John N. Reeve, Doctor of Philosophy, Ph.D., is the Department Chair of microbiology at Ohio State University, where he is Rod Sharp Professor of Microbiology. He received his bachelor's degree from the University of Birmingham, UK, in 1968, and a ...
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best pu ...
Longevity and Diversity of Microorganisms Entrapped in Tropical and Polar Ice Cores
*David A. Stahl Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world.
Chart ...
Diversity and Habitat Range of Sulfate-Reducing Microorganisms
*Gordon T. Taylor SUNY at Stony Brook
Stony Brook University (SBU), officially the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is a public research university in Stony Brook, New York. Along with the University at Buffalo, it is one of the State University of New York system's ...
Biology and Ecology of South Pole Snow Microbes
*Thomas C. Vogelmann University of Wyoming
The University of Wyoming (UW) is a public land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, and opened in September 1887. The University of Wyomin ...
The Snow Alga Chlamydomonas nivalis: Photosynthesis Under the Greatest Extremes of High Light, UV-B Radiation and Low Temperature on Earth
*Russell H. Vreeland West Chester University
West Chester University (also known as West Chester, WCU, or WCUPA, and officially as West Chester University of Pennsylvania) is a public research university in and around West Chester, Pennsylvania. The university is accredited by the Middl ...
Paleobiology of Ancient Salt Formations: Examination of Primary Crystals for Biological Materials
See also
* List of ecology awards
This list of biology awards is an index to articles about notable awards for biology. It includes a general list and lists of ecology, genetics and neuroscience awards. It excludes awards for biochemistry, biomedical science, medicine, ornitholo ...
* List of environmental awards
This list of environmental awards is an index to articles about notable environmental awards for activities that lead to the protection of the natural environment
The natural environment or natural world encompasses all living and non-livi ...
References
{{Reflist
National Science Foundation
Ecology awards
Environmental sciences awards