The NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Protoplanetary Disk Initiative is pleased to invite a number of renowned astronomers to a workshop on Planet Formation Processes and the Development of Prebiotic Conditions.

The workshop will be organized so that there will be presentations in the morning followed by discussions in small working groups in the afternoon, with the working groups reporting on the findings on the final morning. The four working groups will be focused around the following topic areas:

1. The magneto-rotational instability in star and planet formation
2. Chemical processing of primordial material in protostellar disks
3. Dust evolution and planetesimal formation
4. The signatures of planets in transitional and debris disks

Each working group will have a specific question related to their discipline to address:

1. Where does magnetic activity occur in disks?
2. What was the chemical environment during the formation of Jupiter and Saturn?
3. How can the gas drag catastrophe be avoided?
4. How can we distinguish between different mechanisms for forming central holes in protostellar and transitional disks?

Tuesday, 18 March - Friday, 21 March 2008

The Beckman Institute Auditorium (map) at the California Institute of Technology (directions/maps) in Pasadena, California, USA.

Due to the limited number of attendees that we will be able to host, this workshop is by invitation only. This workshop has a very specific focus, and a limited capacity. The registration fee will be $100, payable in cash on the first day of the Workshop. If this is problematic, please contact us. If you would like to be considered for this workshop, please contact:



Please address any further queries to the Organizing Committee.