Hiya!
Shawn Domagal-Goldman here (username: shawndgoldman). This is my first time running a blog, although I’ve also frequented quite a few blogs on Chicago sports teams in the past. I just finished my PhD in Geosciences and Astrobiology at Penn State, and will continue to work as a postdoc for the next year with my thesis advisors, James Kubicki and James Kasting. My research has mostly been on modeling stable isotope fractionations for systems relevant to the rise of atmospheric O2 in the Arcehan – specifically Fe and S isotopes. More on that later…
For now, i’d like to get everyone else’s feedback on the site. There is a new sidebar with some new tools to use – check those out. Do you like the look/feel of things? Can you read everything clearly? What types of posts do you want to read/write here? What types of tools/widgets do you want us to provide? If there is something on another blog you think is cool – send us a link to it! Let us know what you want (or don’t want!) out of this blog. Like any community, blogs are only as strong as the individuals that comprise it… so let us know what you want! Less exclamation points? OK…
One specific thing i’m going to propose (and give an example of in a little bit) is posting and commenting on Astrobio-related news here. I think it will increase the regularity of the posts here, which should also hopefully bring readers by more often and increase the incentive for people to comment and contribute. If you want to keep this as a journal club only blog, let me know and i’ll tone down the news posts.
Everyone else should feel free to write, as well. If you’re having trouble logging in or commenting, send an email to Langley or myself – sgoldman AT geosc DOT psu DOT edu.
I am a big fan of http://www.cosmicvariance.com/ and http://www.interactions.org/quantumdiaries/ . We can learn from their design and layout. Also, we can replace “Keeping up with the science of the *search* for life in the Universe” with something more appropriate because the search for life is just an aspect of this vast field.