39 Alpha Research is a scientific research nonprofit dedicated to making fundamental scientific discoveries that will help humanity repair the biosphere.
Collective Experence
Research Scientist 3X 2019 - Current
39 Alpha Research
Assistant Professor 2023 - Current
School of Complex Adaptive Systems
Arizona State University
NASA Astrobiology Postdoctoral Fellow 2021-2023
Arizona State University and Santa Fe Institute
NASA Postdoctoral Fellow 2020-2023
Toner Laboratory for Low Temperature Geochemistry
University of Minnesota
Postdoctoral Research Scientist 2018-2021
Team Leader Cronin Group for Complex Chemical Systems
Department of Chemistry
University of Glasgow
Postdoctoral Research Scholar 2016-2021
Walker Lab, ELIFE
BEYOND Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science
Arizona State University
Graduate Researcher 2013-2020
Group Exploring Organic Processes in Geochemistry
School of Earth and Space Exploration
Arizona State University
Graduate Researcher 2014-2018
Walker Lab, ELIFE
School of Earth and Space Exploration
Arizona State University
Graduate Researcher 2016-2016
Group Exploring Organic Processes in Geochemistry
Complex Systems Summer School
Santa Fe Institute
Instructor 2016-2016
Sawant Lab
Department of Radiation Oncology
University of Maryland, Baltimore
Postdoctoral Researcher 2015-2016
Sawant Lab
Department of Radiation Oncology
The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Graduate Researcher 2014-2014
Complex Systems Summer School
Santa Fe Institute
Adjunct Faculty 2012-2014
Department of Mathematics and Physics
McLennan Community College
Undergraduate Researcher 2012-2012
Johnson Lab
Planetary Ices Group
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Undergraduate Researcher 2011-2012
Saltikov Lab
Microbiology and Environmental Toxicology
University of California, Santa Cruz








Publications
Boyer, G., Robare, J., Park, N., Ely, T., et al. 2024. AqEquil: Python package for aqueous geochemical speciation (v0.19.0). Zenodo. 10.5281/zenodo.13530217
Randolph-Flagg, N.G., Ely, T., Som, S.M. et al. 2023. Phosphate availability and implications for life on ocean worlds. Nature Communications, 14. doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-37770-9
Ely, T., Leong, J., Canovas, P., et al. 2023. Huge variation in H2 generation during seawater alteration of ultramafic rocks. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 24. 10.1029/2022GC010658
Rucker, H.R., Ely, T.D., LaRowe, D.E., et al. 2023. Quantifying the bioavailable energy in an ancient hydrothermal vent on mars and a modern earth-based analog. Astrobiology, 23. 10.1089/ast.2022.0064
Marshall, S. M., Moore, D. G., Murray, A. R. G., et al. 2022. Formalising the pathways to life using assembly spaces. Entropy, 24. 10.3390/e24070884
Buessecker, S., Imanaka, H., Ely, T. et al. 2022. Mineral-catalysed formation of marine NO and N2O on the anoxic early Earth. Nature Geoscience, 15. 10.1038/s41561-022-01089-9
Moore, D.G., Morales, M., Walker, S.I., et al. 2021. The information signature of diverging lineages. bioRxiv. doi.org/10.1101/2021.08.30.458276
Lockey, D., Mathis, C., Miras, H.N., et al. 2021. Investigating the autocatalytically driven formation of keggin-based polyoxometalate clusters. Matter, 5.
Milesi, V., Shock, E., Ely, T., et al. 2021. Forward geochemical modeling as a guiding tool during exploration of sea cliff hydrothermal field, gorda ridge. Planetary and Space Science, 197.10.1016/j.pss.2020.105151
Leong, J.A.M., Ely, T., Shock, E.L. 2021. Decreasing extents of archean serpentinization contributed to the rise of an oxidized atmosphere. Nature Communications, 12. 10.1038/s41467-021-27589-7
Doran, D., Clarke, E., Keenan, G., et al. 2021. Exploring the sequence space of unknown oligomers and polymers. Cell Reports Physical Science, 2.
Asche, S., Cooper, G.J., Keenan, G., et al. 2021. A robotic prebiotic chemist probes long term reactions of complexifying mixtures. Nature Communications, 12. 10.1038/s41467-021-23828-z
Liu, Y., Mathis, C., Bajczyk, M.D., et al. 2021. Exploring and mapping chemical space with molecular assembly trees. Science Advances, 7. 10.1126/sciadv.abj2465
Marshall, S.M., Mathis, C., Carrick, E., et al. 2021. Identifying molecules as biosignatures with assembly theory and mass spectrometry. Nature Communications, 12. 10.1038/s41467-021-23258-x
Miras, H.N., Mathis, C., Xuan, W., et al. 2020. Spontaneous formation of autocatalytic sets with self-replicating inorganic metal oxide clusters. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117. 10.1073/pnas.1921536117
Mathis, C. 2020. Meaning of the living state. Social and Conceptual Issues in Astrobiology, 91.
Ely, T.D. 2020. Thermodynamic cartography in basalt-hosted hydrothermal systems.
Marshall, S.M., Moore, D., Murray, A.R., et al. 2019. Quantifying the pathways to life using assembly spaces. arXiv:1907.04649
Antonioni, A., Martinez-Vaquero, L.A., Mathis, C., et al. 2019. Individual perception dynamics in drunk games. Physical Review E, 99. 10.1103/PhysRevE.99.052311
Surman, A.J., Rodriguez-Garcia, M., Abul-Haija, Y.M., et al. 2019. Environmental control programs the emergence of distinct functional ensembles from unconstrained chemical reactions. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116. 10.1073/pnas.181398711
Kim, H., Smith, H.B., Mathis, C., et al. 2019. Universal scaling across biochemical networks on earth. Science Advances, 5. 10.1126/sciadv.aau0149
Caillet, V., O’Brien, R., Moore, D., et al. 2019. Technical note: In silico and experimental evaluation of two leaf-fitting algorithms for MLC tracking based on exposure error and plan complexity. Medical Physics, 46. 10.1002/mp.13425
Moore, D.G., Walker, S.I. 2019. Inferring a graph’s topology from games played on it. The 2019 Conference on Artificial Life. 10.1162/isal_a_00173
Walker, S.I., Mathis, C. 2018. Network theory in prebiotic evolution. Prebiotic Chemistry and Chemical Evolution of Nucleic
Acids. 10.1007/978-3-319-93584-3_10
Moore, D.G., Walker, S.I., Levin, M. 2018. Pattern regeneration in coupled networks. ALIFE 2018: The 2018 Conference on Artificial Life. 10.1162/isal_a_00043
Daniels, B.C., Kim, H., Moore, D., et al. 2018. Criticality distinguishes the ensemble of biological regulatory networks. Physical Review Letters, 121. 10.1103/PhysRevLett.121.138102
Valentini, G., Moore, D.G., Hanson, J.R., et al. 2018. Transfer of information in collective decisions by artificial agents. The 2018 Conference on Artificial Life: A Hybrid of the European Conference on Artificial Life (ECAL) and the International Conference on the Synthesis and Simulation of Living Systems (ALIFE). 10.1162/isal_a_00117
Moore, D.G., Valentini, G., Walker, S.I., et al. 2018. Inform: Efficient information-theoretic analysis of collective behaviors. Frontiers in Robotics and AI, 5. 10.3389/frobt.2018.00060
Mathis, C., Ramprasad, S.N., Walker, S.I., et al. 2017. Prebiotic RNA network formation: A taxonomy of molecular cooperation. Life, 7. 10.3390/life7040038
Mathis, C., Bhattacharya, T., Walker, S.I. 2017. The emergence of life as a first-order phase transition. Astrobiology, 17. 10.1089/ast.2016.1481
Moore, D., Walker, S.I., Levin, M. 2017. Cancer as a disorder of patterning information: Computational and biophysical perspectives on the cancer problem. Convergent Science Physical Oncology, 3. 10.1088/2057-1739/aa8548
Moore, D.G., Valentini, G., Walker, S.I., et al. 2017. Inform: A toolkit for information-theoretic analysis of complex systems. 2017 IEEE symposium series on computational intelligence (SSCI). 10.1109/SSCI.2017.8285197
Moore, D.G. 2016. The landscape of free fermionic gauge models. 10.1007/978-3-319-24618-5
Moore, D., Ruan, D., Sawant, A. 2016. Fast leaf-fitting with generalized underdose/overdose constraints for real-time MLC tracking. Medical Physics, 43. 10.1118/1.4938586
Noell, A.C., Ely, T., Bolser, D.K., et al. 2015. Spectroscopy and viability of bacillus subtilis spores after ultraviolet irradiation: Implications for the detection of potential bacterial life on europa. Astrobiology, 15. 10.1089/ast.2014.1169
Moore, D. 2014. The systematic construction of free fermionic heterotic string gauge models. Journal of physics. Conference Series, 485. 10.1088/1742-6596/485/1/012066
Moore, D.G., Satheeshkumar, V.H. 2014. Spectral dimension of bosonic string theory. Physical Review D, 90. 10.1103/PhysRevD.90.024075
Renner, T., Greenwald, J., Moore, D., et al. 2013. Initial systematic investigations of the landscape of low-layer NAHE variation extensions. International Scholarly Research Notices, 2013.10.1155/2013/595070
Moore, D., Greenwald, J., Cleaver, G. 2013. Gauge models in D dimensions. Modern Physics Letters A, 28. 10.1142/S0217732313500557
Moore, D.G., Satheeshkumar, V.H. 2013. The fate of lorentz frame in the vicinity of black hole singularity. International Journal of Modern Physics D, 22. 10.1142/S0218271813420261
Renner, T., Greenwald, J., Moore, D., et al. 2012. Initial systematic investigations of the landscape of low layer NAHE extensions. European Physical Journal C: Particles and Fields, 72. 10.1140/epjc/s10052-012-2167-y
Greenwald, J., Moore, D., Pechan, K., et al. 2011. On a NAHE variation. Nuclear Physics B, 850. 10.1016/j.nuclphysb.2011.05.001
Cleaver, G., Faraggi, A., Greenwald, J., et al. 2011. Investigation of quasi-realistic heterotic string models with reduced Higgs spectrum. European Physical Journal C: Particles and Fields, 71. 10.1140/epjc/s10052-011-1842-8
Renner, T., Greenwald, J., Moore, D., et al. 2011. Redundancies in explicitly constructed ten-dimensional heterotic string models. International Journal of Modern Physics A, 26. 10.1142/S0217751X1105453X
Hicks, W., Vestal, L., Greenwald, J., et al. 2011. Algorithm for determining u(1) charges in free fermionic heterotic string models. arXiv:1108.4082
Moore, D., Greenwald, J., Renner, T., et al. 2011. Systematic investigations of the free fermionic heterotic string gauge group statistics: layer 1 results. Modern Physics Letters A, 26. 10.1142/S0217732311036851

