Approximately 4.6 billion years ago a newly formed earth looked very different from the one we know today. Humankind is only beginning to understand how life could come to be on this planet, but this ever developing understanding of these beginnings is becoming increasingly clear thanks to studies in the geological sciences. It is of this matter that Matthew R.M. Izawa, a PhD candidate in UWO's Earth Sciences Department concerns himself.
Matthew's passion for the origins of life, and of the universe for that matter, began at a young age when reading an article in a 1987 issue of the National Geographic about supernova. This sparked his interest in astrophysics and gave him one of the first flashes of insight on the grand unification theory, the ultimate synthesis of physics: "I saw that there was a connection between stellar nucleosynthesis and the composition of living things. For as long as I can remember, I’ve been interested in and struck by the unity of the universe. Geology, physics and astronomy are replete with instances where apparently disparate phenomena can been understood as originating from a single underlying process, and I find that fascinating and philosophically appealing". In fact, Matthew is still immersed in study of unified field theory, for which he continues to follow its literature to this very day. Matthew's formal journey studying the planetary sciences began at Western during his undergraduate degree in Physics and Astronomy, after which he continued on in this country's only planetary sciences graduate program. He considers the core of faculty and students in his department as excellent in providing great opportunities for collaboration. Having studied in physics, astronomy and geology, he has often been able to act as a bridge between researchers of these fields, which has allowed him numerous collaborations leading him to co-author five papers and first author another. His early and yet prolific publication record is ever expanding and sees further contribution from a highly recommended course in Planetary Science entitled Impact Cratering 9601 with Gordon Osinski: "This course is a great mixture of geology, physics and astronomy. It has a field trip component and a major research project that will likely result in one or two additional publications".
Matthew's PhD thesis came from recent findings that rock chemistries of subaqueous basalts, which are ubiquitous in the solar system, along with hyaloclastites both provide suitable microbial habitats that were possibly essential to the beginning of life. Formed by subaqueous volcanism, basaltic glass is believed to have played an important role in the preservation of microbial records.
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| Some of the specimens under study in Matthew's research |
Infilling of these textures by minerals such as zeolites and titanite may have further contributed to their preservation throughout geological time. Mineralization of titanite enables the preservation of many signatures of biological activity, either within the mineral itself or by preserving biologically important elements at grain boundaries. In his research, Matthew is currently investigating such microbial trace fossils which may be of astrobiological relevance, indicating that life first emerged in such an aqueous environment either on Earth or elsewhere in the solar system where it was protected from meteorite bombardment and solar radiation. Consequently, his research may also offer new insight into planetary formation.
As an accomplished graduate student at the UWO, Matthew is also a recipient of numerous external and internal awards including two highly competitive major scholarships. He attributes his success in grad studies to striking a balance in his life. He works hard but also plays hard and understands that no knowledge is ever useless. His advice to fellow grad students is to not be afraid to cross discipline boundaries: "Many of the really cool questions arise at the interface between traditional disciplines".
Matthew, who is fundamentally interested in the origins of things, hopes to contribute to our understanding of the origin of the solar system and of life: "I dream of becoming an astronaut and traveling to the Moon and/or Mars, and I intend to make scientific contributions that will make me an attractive candidate for the astronaut program".