George Cooper is a Research Scientist at NASA-Ames Research Center. Since 1998 he has been a Principal Investigator doing research on molecular and stable isotope analysis of meteoritic organic compounds to determine their cosmochemical origins. He has co-authored articles published in a number of journals, including Science and Nature. From 1995-1998 he was a Principal Investigator at the SETI Institute, and from 1993-1995 he was a National Research Council (NRC) Postdoctoral Fellow within the Exobiology Branch of NASA-Ames Research Center. He received his Ph.D. in chemistry from Arizona State University in 1993. Dr. Cooper is interested in exploring areas in which a chemistry background may contribute to improving scientific infrastructure in developing countries (initially in Africa) to promote sustainable development.