REGISTRATION
From November 2026
ABOUT THE COURSE
Our universe is full of molecules, from the simplest – molecular hydrogen – all the way up to the complex molecular structures essential to the chemistry of life on Earth. A large and diverse array of chemical species has been detected not only on planets but in interstellar clouds, in regions of star formation, in protoplanetary disks, and in comets and meteorites within the solar system. But how and when was all this material formed, and how does it evolve over time? How much molecular content is inherited from one stage of star and
planet formation to the next? What role does the chemistry of the universe through cosmic
time play in the origins of life? A major unanswered question remains whether the molecules
essential to life were produced on the early Earth (endogenous origin), or whether they were
produced in the parent interstellar medium or planet-forming disk and delivered to Earth via
asteroids, comets and their meteoritic remains (exogenous origin).
This lecture course will be devoted to astrochemistry and the exploration of topics related
to the chemical origins of life. In 18 lectures from the world-leading experts, we will discuss
the history of the early molecular universe starting from the Big Bang; environmental
conditions and key physico-chemical processes in space; astronomical observations
(from ground to space) of objects of astrochemical interest; chemical models describing
astrophysical environments and their reaction networks; key laboratory techniques and
approaches for studying astrochemical processes; chemistry in specific environments,
such as the interstellar medium, protoplanetary disks, and atmospheres of (exo)planets;
exogenous synthesis and delivery of biomolecule precursors; and, finally, evolution of these
precursors on the early Earth.
GALS is aimed at providing a broad overview of scientific issues, problems,
achievements, and open questions in astrochemistry; and at helping senior undergraduate
and postgraduate students as well as early career scientists to expand their interests and
develop a firm understanding of this area, sufficient to choose an appropriate direction for
their future career. The course is open to students and scientists from all over the world, but the organizers reserve the right to be selective in terms of access and to limit the total number of participants.
In the coming years, GALS will consist of two parts: 14 core lectures
and 4 special lectures. There will be a new topic for special lectures
every year.
For the coming semester, we have chosen "Protoplanetary disks".
LECTURERS
- Eleonora Bianchi, INAF-Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri, Italy
- Dieter Braun, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Germany
- Robin Garrod, University of Virginia, USA
- Wolf Geppert, Stockholm University, Sweden
- Martin McCoustra, Heriot-Watt University, Scotland
- Paul Molliere, Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Germany
- Alexey Potapov, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Germany
- Sean Raymond, University of Bordeaux, France
- Martin Rubin, University of Bern, Switzerland
- Barbara Ryden, Ohio State University, USA
- Dima Semenov, University of Heidelberg, Germany
- Alexander Tielens, University of Maryland, USA
COURSE PROGRAM
Coming soon...