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The official opening of the Centre for Planetary Habitability (PHAB), Dept of Geosciences, University of Oslo took place Wednesday 20th of September in the historic premises of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters in Drammensveien.
There the centre director, Trond H. Torsvik, could welcome invited guests and fellow employees to the official opening and seminar. The Rector of Oslo University, Svein Stølen, led the opening ceremony.
The event had speeches from scientists in the field, and there were also presentations of the visions and plans for the new research centre. The seminar was followed by a dinner for the guests.
What makes a planet habitable?
The research in PHAB has its origins in what we know make the Earth habitable. Earth is the only one where life is known to have originated. Here it is water, a large moon, a long-lived magnetic field, and plate tectonics.
Yet, which of these and other characteristics are essential for long-term habitability?, the scientists in PHAB will be asking.
The questions for the research team are many: How have Earth’s physical and chemical attributes, and thus our planet’s proclivity for life, evolved? And how can we recognise distant worlds around other stars that have been or could be habitable? This is the first research centre of its kind in Norway and will explore these questions that have captivated scientists for centuries.
PHAB started on 1 July 2023 with a scientific staff of around 35 full-time employees. The new centre is hosted by the Department of Geosciences, where it forms a section at the department.
PHABs three interrelated research themes
The research objective in the new centre is to recognise and characterise key conditions that make a planet habitable. The PHAB-team aim to explore the formation and evolution of star-planet systems with the Solar System and the Earth-Moon couplet as reference and focus.
The research activities will comprise three themes (work packages), which are: 1) Planets and the Early Earth, 2) the Modern Earth, and 3) the Exo-Earths. Each of the themes is divided into work packages and research projects. It is possible for interested to read more about the themes and the research at the centre's new web pages.
Funded from the Centres of Excellence scheme
The Centre for Planetary Habitability (PHAB) is a Centre of Excellence (SFF) financed by The Research Council of Norway, with start in 2023 and an end after 10 years in 2033. The centre will be evaluated mid-term in the period..
Centers of Excellence enable Norway's leading scientific environments to collaborate, striving to achieve ambitious scientific goals. The research conducted in these centers is innovative and holds significant potential for results of international significance. Read more about the Centres of Excellence scheme funding at The Research Council of Norway webpages.