Members of the Center for Chemical Evolution have created a one semester course intended to introduce students to the current scientific theories pertaining to the origin of life and early evolution. An intrinsically interdisciplinary topic, this course includes material as varied as the use of atmospheric physics to model the early Earth, to the use of genetics to map evolution and the tree of life. The material chosen for the course helps the instructor demonstrate to the students how we can use our current knowledge of biology, chemistry and physics to places limits on possible scenarios for the origin of life, and eventually solve the problem of how life began on Earth. An equally important objective of this course, particularly when taught at the undergraduate level, is to help students develop critical thinking skills, the ability to read scientific literature and to inspire them to pursue answers to big questions/challenges in science and society.
