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 Planetary Science: People
Michael Russell's Picture
Address:
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
M/S 183-601
4800 Oak Grove Drive
Pasadena, CA 91109
Phone:
818 354-4985
Fax:
818 393-3037
Email:
Curriculum Vitae:

Michael Russell
NASA Senior Research Fellow

Education
  • B.Sc. Honours, Geology with Chemistry, University of London (1963)
  • Ph.D. Mineral Deposit Geochemistry, University of Durham (1974)
Research Interests
  • The emergence of life and oxygenic photosynthesis in the context of hydrothermal systems on wet, rocky, sunlit planets
Professional Experience
  • Jet Propulsion Laboratory (2006 - present)
    • NASA Senior Research Fellow (2006 - present)
    • Distinguished Visiting Scientist (2005 - present)
  • CNRS Professor, University of Grenoble, (2004-2005)
  • University of Glasgow (1990-2004)
    • Dixon Research Professor (1999-2004)
    • Professor of Applied Geology (1990-1999)
  • Strathclyde University (1969-1989)
    • Professor/HoD Applied Geology Department (1983-1989)
    • Lecturer, Senior Lecturer, Reader, HoD (1969-1983)
  • Geologist (party chief), Falconbridge Nickel Mines, Canada (1965)
  • British United Nations Association Geologist, Solomon Islands (1963-1965)
  • Works Chemist Improver, Howards of Ilford Limited, London (1958-1959)
Selected Publications
  1. Martin, W., Baross, J., Kelley, D., Russell M.J. 2008, Hydrothermal vents and the origin of life. Nature Reviews, Microbiology 6, 806-814.
  2. Russell, M.J. 2008, On the emergence and early evolution of life. In Life strategies of microorganisms in the environment and in host organisms. Nova Acta Leopoldina, 96, 45-52.
  3. Russell, M.J., Allen, J.F., & Milner-White, E.J. 2008, Inorganic complexes enabled the onset of life and oxygenic photosynthesis. In Energy from the Sun: 14th International Congress on Photosynthesis, J.F. Allen, E.Gantt, J.H. Golbeck, B. Osmond (editors). Springer. 1193-1198.
  4. Milner-White, E.J., & Russell, M.J., 2008, Predicting peptide and protein conformations in early evolution. Biology Direct 3, 3: doi:10.1186/1745-6150-3-3
  5. Russell, M.J. 2007, The alkaline solution to the emergence of life: Energy, entropy and early evolution. Acta Biotheoretica, 55, 133-179.
  6. Martin, W., & Russell M.J. 2007, On the origin of biochemistry at an alkaline hydrothermal vent. Philosophical Transactions, Royal Society of London (Ser.B) 362, 1887-1925
  7. Baaske, P., Weinert, F., Duhr, S., Lemke, K., Russell, M.J. & Braun, D. 2007, Extreme accumulation of nucleotides in simulated hydrothermal pore systems. Proceedings of the National Academy Science, USA, 104, 9346-9351.
  8. Russell, M.J. 2007, Der heßie Ursprung des Lebens. Spektrum der Wissenschaft January 2007, 73-81.
  9. Russell, M.J. & Hall, A.J., 2006, The onset and early evolution of life. in Kesler, S.E., and Ohmoto, H., eds., Evolution of Early Earth's Atmosphere, Hydrosphere, and Biosphere Constraints from Ore Deposits, Geological Society of America, Memoir 198, 1-32.
  10. Russell, M.J. 2006, First life. American Scientist 94, 32-39.
  11. Russell, M.J., Hall, A.J., Boyce, A.J., & Fallick, A.E., 2005, On hydrothermal convection systems and the emergence of life. Economic Geology 100, 419-438.
  12. Milner-White, E.J. & Russell, M.J. 2005, Sites for phosphates and iron-sulfur thiolates in the first membranes: 3 to 6 residue anion-binding motifs (nests): Origins of Life and Evolution of the Biosphere 35, 19-27.
  13. Russell, M.J. & Arndt, N.T. 2005, Geodynamic and metabolic cycles in the Hadean. Biogeosciences 2, 97-111.
  14. Edwards, H.G.M., Moody, C.D., Newton, E.M., Villar, S.E.J., & Russell, M.J. 2005, Raman spectroscopic analysis of cyanobacterial colonization of hydromagnesite, a putative martian extremophile. Icarus 175, 372-381.
  15. Russell, M.J. & Martin, W. 2004, The rocky roots of the acetyl coenzyme-A pathway. Trends in Biochemical Science 24, 358-363.
  16. Russell, M.J. 2003, On the importance of being alkaline. Science 302, 580-581.
  17. Martin, W. & Russell, M.J. 2003, On the origin of cells: An hypothesis for the evolutionary transitions from abiotic geochemistry to chemoautorophic prokaryotes, and from prokaryotes to nucleated cells. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London 358B, 27-85.
  18. Russell, M.J., Hall, A.J. and Mellersh, A.R. 2003, On the dissipation of thermal and chemical energies on the early Earth: The onsets of hydrothermal convection, chemiosmosis, genetically regulated metabolism and oxygenic photosynthesis, in Natural and Laboratory-Simulated Thermal Geochemical Processes R. Ikan ed. Dordrecht, Kluwer Academic Publishers pp. 325-388.
  19. Boyce, A.J., Little, C.T.S. & Russell, M.J., 2003, A new fossil vent biota in the Ballynoe barite deposit, Silvermines, Ireland: Evidence for intracratonic sea-floor hydrothermal activity about 352 Ma. Economic Geology 98, 649-656.
  20. Russell, M.J. & Hall, A.J. 2002, From geochemistry to biochemistry: chemiosmotic coupling and transition element clusters in the onset of life and photosynthesis. The Geochemical News no. 113/October, 6-12.
  21. Fallick, A.E., Ashton, J.H., Boyce, A.J., Ellam, R.M. & Russell, M.J. 2001, Bacteria were responsible for the magnitude of the world-class hydrothermal base-metal orebody at Navan, Ireland. Economic Geology 96, 885-890.
  22. Russell, M.J., Ingham, J.K., Zedef, V., Maktav, D., Sunar, F., Hall, A.J. & Fallick, A.E. 1999. Search for signs of ancient life on Mars: Expectations from hydromagnesite microbialites, Salda Lake, Turkey. Journal Geological Society London 156, 869-888.
  23. Russell, M.J. & Hall, A.J. 1997, The emergence of life from iron monosulphide bubbles at a submarine hydrothermal redox and pH front. Journal Geological Society London 154, 377-402.
  24. Macleod, G., Mckeown, C., Hall, A.J. & Russell, M.J. 1994, Hydrothermal and oceanic pH conditions at 4Ga relevant to the origin of life. Origins of life and evolution of the Biosphere 24, 19-41.
  25. Russell, M.J., Daniel, R.M., Hall, A.J. & Sherringham, J. 1994. A hydrothermally precipitated catalytic iron sulphide membrane as a first step toward life. Journal of Molecular Evolution 39, 231-243
  26. Russell, M.J., Hall, A.J., & Turner, D. 1989. In vitro growth of iron sulphide chimneys: possible culture chambers for origin-of-life experiments. Terra Nova 1, 238-241.
  27. Russell, M.J., Hall, A.J., Cairns-Smith, A.G., and Braterman, P.S. 1988. Submarine hot springs and the origin of life. Nature 336, 117.

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