David Baum

David Baum is a Professor in the Department of Botany at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, conducting research at the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery (WID). His lab, located in the Discovery Building at 330 N Orchard Street, Madison, WI, focuses on experimental and theoretical approaches to life's origins and evolutionary biology.

Baum's research centers on how life-like chemical systems originate and how to detect them in laboratory settings. He bridges in vitro chemistry with evolutionary theory using artificial ecosystem selection, investigating prebiotic autocatalytic networks, spatial dynamics in chemical ecosystems, and the transition to biochemical life. Additional work explores the origin of eukaryotic cell structure and species delimitation in plant systems like baobabs.

Analysis of his recent publications reveals consistent focus on prebiotic chemical ecosystems, with recurring themes of autocatalysis, heritability, and eco-evolutionary dynamics. His work integrates mathematics (e.g., polyhedral geometry) with experimental chemistry to model life's emergence, emphasizing mineral surfaces, membrane-bound systems, and combinatorial explosions in prebiotic contexts.

No scientific awards were mentioned in the provided materials.

Baum leads collaborative research projects, including NSF-funded initiatives like the EAGER Collaborative Proposal for microfluidic platforms to detect life-like chemical systems. While specific advisees aren't listed, his work involves interdisciplinary teams spanning chemistry, biology, and computational modeling, supported by grants examining ecological networks and major evolutionary transitions.

The Baum Lab operates within the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery's interdisciplinary ecosystem, utilizing facilities in the Discovery Building to experimentally test origins-of-life hypotheses. Current projects include chemical ecosystem selection on mineral surfaces, wet-dry cycling for peptide synthesis, and modeling egalitarian major transitions, with lab operations detailed at https://baumlab.botany.wisc.edu/.