3rd AbGradE Symposium, Berlin, September 2018

The 3rd AbGradE Symposium took place in September 2018 at the Free University of Berlin. The Symposium lasted 2 days and was attended by 64 participants both from across Europe and futher afield. The Symposium featured 5 keynote talks and 20 contributor talks, a poster session and a conference dinner. The unofficial start of the event was a sightseeing tour in the city centre of Berlin from Alexanderplatz to the Brandenburg Gate, visiting various landmarks en route. After the sightseeing tour, an Icebreaker event promoted networking between the participants.
The symposium included sessions on Astronomy and Habitability, Mars astrobiology, prebiotic chemistry and the Origins of Life and microbiology, together with a poster session, giving everyone the opportunity to present and discuss their work to their peers in an informal setting. Keynote talks were kindly given by Nader Haghighipour (University of Hawaii-Manoa, USA), John Lee Grenfell (DLR Berlin, Germany), Peter Fawdon (Open University, UK), Filipa L. Sousa (University of Vienna) and Claudia Pacelli (University of Tuscia). The event concluded with a conference dinner, which was held in a Greek Tavern in Berlin city centre. The symposium was our best-attended event yet and we look forward to the next edition in 2020.