Robert Hazen is a scientist based at the Carnegie Institution’s Geophysical Laboratory and George Mason University. His recent research focuses on the roles of minerals in life’s origins, including mineral-catalyzed organic synthesis and interactions between biomolecules and mineral surfaces, as well as “mineral evolution” and “mineral ecology”—new approaches that exploit large and growing mineral data resources to explore the co-evolution of the geo- and biospheres. A prolific writer, Hazen has authored more than 400 articles and 25 books on topics ranging from astrobiology to scientific literacy.

If you enjoyed this clip, the whole lecture series is available on Wondrium. And no, Wondrium didn’t pay me to say that-- I just think that they get university-level lectures right in ways that most universities get so wrong, in terms of accessibility to course materials such as lectures and textbooks.