The Chicago Center for the Origins of Life supports multidisciplinary research focused on understanding how life developed on Earth and the potential for life elsewhere.

 

We bring together scientists of all career stages across the Physical Sciences Division of the University of Chicago to promote, encourage, and support fundamental research in this area, train early-career scientists in cross-disciplinary scientific exploration, and foster a community of innovative thinkers that push traditional disciplinary boundaries in the advancement of knowledge.

Center Highlights

Picture of earth's topography

Origins of Life Newsletter Fall ’25

Stay up to date with the Center’s newest developments. View past editions in the Newsletter Archive.

An auditorium full of people watches during a presentation at the 2025 Origins Federation Conference

The 2025 Origins Federation Conference

The Center hosted the third annual Origins Federation Conference, September 8-12

"Big Brains Podcast" text over a multicolored brain image

Jack Szostak’s delves into one of science’s most fundamental questions on the Big Brains podcast

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