2024 Course dates: 

June 16 - July 21

Hosted by Penn State since 2023, the IGC features immersive training in geobiology based on field experiences in central Italy and at Green Lake, NY. Students will be instructed by and get to know leading scholars, and will gain hands-on experience using world-class geochemistry, biology, and materials research facilities on the Penn State campus.

Students will explore cave-forming microbial ecosystems, biosignatures in modern and ancient thermal springs, anaerobic phototrophy, how biology shapes carbonate sedimentation and marine platforms, and biogeochemical responses to catastrophic impacts and climate upheavals. Student will  gain experience with state-of-the-art metagenomic methods, isotopic analyses, lipid and pigment biomarkers, imaging spectroscopy, microscopy, field methods, and computational and data analytical methods.