UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Dani Buchheister, a doctoral student in geobiology and astrobiology, is among Penn State’s 21 new National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program recipients — six in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences — for the 2022-23 academic year.
The astrobiology doctoral program is a dual-title degree program administered within the Department of Geosciences in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences.
Buchheister researches life that sustained some of the most inhospitable areas of the globe. Specifically, she studies a biofilm that grows below the surface of Italy’s Frasassi Caves in water that’s low in oxygen, light and common chemicals that microbes use for energy. Understanding how life survives on such few resources holds clues to the prospect of life throughout the universe.
She also gets to work closely with a biofilm that few experts have seen, let alone studied. She’s in uncharted waters as she builds knowledge of this rare life that grows hundreds of feet below the Earth’s surface.
“I’m interested in astrobiology and the search for other life in the universe,” Buchheister said. “One way we can gain a better understanding of what might be out there is by studying the origins and limits of life here on Earth. I approach this idea by studying microorganisms in settings that are relevant to early Earth environments.”
Researchers think life in the Frasassi Caves could also shed light on how life endured on early Earth.
Buchheister said her curiosity about the origin of life is what inspired her to seek her doctorate. Working in the field, she watched the documentary, “The Most Unknown,” which features her research adviser, Jennifer Macalady, in her quest to understand life inside the Frasassi Caves and beyond.
“I thought it was some of the coolest research I had seen,” Buchheister said.
This fellowship, which she said is known for funding the student rather than specific research, gives her the freedom to chase her curiosities and pursue her passions.
Ultimately, Buchheister said she wants to become a better scientist. She said astrobiology is a fairly new — yet growing — field, and Penn State’s network of experts means she’ll be working alongside researchers who share her same curiosity for life, and who are seeking answers to the same questions.
“Astrobiology is a very interdisciplinary field. Being a grad student here allows me to network with and learn from so many other scientists,” Buchheister said. “We may not all do the same type of research, but we’re united by a common question: Is there other life out there in the universe?”