Origin of life research takes place in laboratories ranging from Astronomy and Astrochemistry to Geobiology and Genomics. Understanding deep time on earth has become increasingly tractable through collaborations and research efforts that seek to bring multi-disciplined teams together. However, origin of life researchers continue to debate the merit of the two trajectories that are natural courses for the field; one where we try to imagine what other life forms might look like and one where we inform our efforts based on the lone earth example we currently have. The next level of understanding to bridge this gap is to find an off-earth example of life. Worldwide space program goals and efforts aim seriously to explore our solar system and beyond for past or present life. Our slate of speakers reflect the latest contributions to our understanding of life's origins including cutting edge research for deep-time earth-based life scenarios, the limits and ubiquity of life on earth, and our search for life elsewhere. The timing of this conference and the focus of Gordon conferences makes the 2006 conference and especially compelling venue.

Thanks to all who have offered insightful suggestions for speakers and topics. Regrettably, only so many topics can be covered in oral presentations. We strongly encourage participation in the poster sessions. The sessions have been organized so that the maximum exposure across disciplines is achieved and this slate of topics should prove compelling.

IMPORTANT NOTE: In addition to submitting your poster abstract to the Gordon Research Conference office, please send a second copy of your abstract electronically to Dr. Bob Hazen at r.hazen@gl.ciw.edu. Dr. Hazen will be coordinating the review and acceptance of poster abstracts for this conference. We will only be able to accept a total of about 65 abstracts because of space limitations at the conference. We encourage submission of conference applications and poster abstracts prior to 30 May 2006, but we will accept later applications unless full enrollment has already occurred. TRAVEL GRANT requests should be submitted to Dr. Hazen as well. Eligibility for grants requires a poster submission.

In conjunction with the 2006 GRC Origin of Life conference, we are offering the first Origin of Life Graduate Research Seminar. This is vital for the community because some of the most clever insights and inspiration are a result of junior researchers interacting among themselves, broadening their knowledge base, and interacting with the leaders of the field. The graduate seminar will be held prior to the regular conference and is being co-chaired by Ms. Heather Bean, Georgia Institute of Technology and Dr. Nicolle Zellner, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, California. Dr. Arturo Becerra, UNAM, Mexico City and Mr. Luis Delaye, UNAM, Mexico City will serve as vice-Chairs, and Dr. Janet Siefert, Rice University, will serve as Corresponding Chair.

We encourage you to apply early for this conference. We are expecting a quite large response to the conference due to the coordination of the regular GRC and the associated GKRS. See you at Bates College this summer!