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Dear Colleagues- On behalf of my co-organizers, Lahouari Krim and Brandon Carroll, I would like to offer a final reminder that the abstract deadline is approaching for a dedicated astrochemistry session at the 2015 Astrobiology Science Conference (AbSciCon), entitled "Interstellar Chemical Evolution: Astrochemistry from Atoms to Amino Acids," to be held June 15 - 19 in Chicago, IL, USA. We welcome contributions from the laboratory astrophysics, modeling, and observational communities. A detailed summary follows this message. *Abstract submission will close on March 4th.* Details are available at the AbSciCon website: http://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/abscicon2015/ AbSciCon is a unique conference, offering participants exposure to research occurring across an incredibly diverse array of fields from chemistry, astronomy, biology, geology, and beyond, all working toward the same goal of understanding the origins of life. Please let us know if there are any questions or concerns, and we hope very much to see you all at AbSciCon 2015! --- Theme: How to Build a Habitable Planet Session Title: Interstellar Chemical Evolution: Astrochemistry from Atoms to Amino Acids Topic Short Title (listed on abstract submission form): Interstellar Chemical Evolution Organizer: Brett A. McGuire (National Radio Astronomy Observatory/California Institute of Technology), [log in to unmask] Summary: The seeding of nascent worlds by (pre-)biotic molecules as the genesis of life-essential biopolymers has been an exciting line of inquiry for decades. The detection of the simplest amino acid, glycine, by the Stardust mission has only intensified this interest in recent years. Yet the chemical-evolutionary routes leading to the formation of glycine, and other (pre-)biotic molecules in the interstellar medium, remain an open question. As these chemical inventories comprise the building blocks from which habitable planets may eventually form, understanding their formation and reaction pathways is critical. This session invites contributions from observational, laboratory, and theoretical astrochemistry examining all aspects of complex chemical evolution in the interstellar medium. Special emphasis is placed on the role of physical environment, in particular the chemistry occurring on and within the icy mantles of dust grains, and the interplay between these reactions and the gas-phase chemistry, in driving molecular inventories toward increased complexity. This session is co-organized by Lahouari Krim (Université Pierre et Marie Curie-Paris VI) and Brandon Carroll (California Institute of Technology). -- *Dr. Brett A. McGuire* | NRAO Jansky Postdoctoral Fellow | Caltech Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Mail Code 150-21 | Pasadena CA 91125 | (626) 395-6791 | Caltech | *caltech.edu* <http://www.caltech.edu/> To join or leave the molecular-dynamics-news email list, go to: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/molecular-dynamics-news.html