Dr. Sohan Jheeta
Sohan Jheeta, HND, BSc, MSc, Ph.D., MRSC, MInstP, FRMS, FRSB, FRAS is an Independent Educator, Science Communicator, and Research Scientist at NoRCEL. He is Visiting Professor of Science Communication at the University of Malawi, Copperbelt University, The Open University of Tanzania, Ethiopian Space Science and Technology Institute, The South African Astronomical Observatory of Cape Town, National University of Science and Technology, Zimbabwe, and The Royal Jorden Geographic Centre, Jordan.
Sohan is a member of The Institute of Physics (MInstP), The Royal Society of Chemistry (MRSC), The Astrobiology Society of Britain, The European Astrobiology Network Association, The Royal Astronomical Society’s Hot Chemistry Group, and The International Society for the Study of the Origin of Life. He is also a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Ambassador, and Fellow of The Royal Society of Biology (FRSB), The Royal Astronomical Society (FRAS), and The Royal Microscopical Society (FRMS). Read Science in Society Outreach. Watch Outreach Africa.
In 2013, Sohan Founded the NoRCEL where he is also the Chairman and Editor in Chief. NoRCEL is a network that aims to connect research laboratories specifically researching into the question of the origin of life on Earth and also research not directly involved in answering the posed question, but which may well be able to contribute to the sum of our knowledge. This pooling of a wide array of knowledge may thus contribute to, and accelerate the understanding of, the origin of life on Earth.
The group has now evolved into five projects including Astroscience Exploration Network (ASEN), Blue Earth Project (BEP), Frontiers of Sciences (FoS), Latin America Hub (LatAm Hub) including NoRCEL Sessions (NS), and Microbial World Network — with the focus of these projects being on educational and outreach programmes serving the global south. Read Are We the First: Was There Life Before Our Solar System? and NoRCEL’s Engagement in Africa: The AstroScience Exploration Network (ASEN).
At the Network of Researchers on the Chemical Evolution of Life (NoRCEL), Sohan is investigating the process often termed “chemical evolution”, where mechanisms of “non-living chemicals” could be transformed into 3-dimensional “first” living organisms. In other words, he is investigating the mysteries of life, the Universe, and everything that’s in it. This research can be considered to be frontier science, as currently we have very little knowledge of “how life began” or whether “there is life elsewhere in the Universe”.
These two questions are inextricably interlinked in that, as life exists on Earth, it is quite feasible that it should also flourish on extra-terrestrial worlds. Read his The Main contenders …, Origin of Life, Molecules to Microbes, and Social Implications.
Sohan is heavily involved in the promotion of the importance of Horizontal Gene Transfer (HGT) during the period of LUCA, as it may hold clues to the understanding of the reorganization of genetics pertaining to the three domains (Archaea, Bacteria and Eukarya) of life and also in the understanding of pre-RNA chemistry.
Read Horizontal Gene Transfer and Its Part in the Reorganisation of Genetics during the LUCA Epoch, The Landscape of the Emergence of Life, Where were the molecules of life made?, and Extremophiles and Horizontal Gene Transfer: Clues to the Emergence of Life.
Sohan earned his Ph.D. in 2010 from The Open University, UK with his work Experimental studies in prebiotic chemistry.
His initial studies largely consisted of astrochemistry but has later progressed to include topics related to the emergence of life on Earth, Astrobiology, and Astrophysics. To this effect, he has written over forty scientific peer reviewed papers, as well as one invited authorship paper and five book chapters and has been published in twenty-four international journals. Internationally, across forty institutes, he has delivered over one hundred and twenty oral presentations including nineteen keynote speeches and has also given thirty-six poster presentations.
Watch Astrochemistry: building blocks of life.
Read Electron induced chemistry: a new frontier in astrochemistry and The Irradiation of CO2 Ice at 30 K with Low Energy Ions.
Visit his Homepage, LinkedIn profile, ORCiD page, ResearchGate page, and Google Scholar page. Follow him on Facebook, The Open University, YouTube, YouTube Ask Why, and Twitter.
