Everhart Lecture

Recently, NASA's STARDUST mission has unambiguously detected the amino acid glycine, one of the most basic building blocks of life as we know it, in pristine cometary samples.  More complex amino acids and have been detected in meteoritic samples for decades longer.  While these discoveries are fascinating, the biggest open question remains: where do these life-essential molecules come from?  Finding the answer to this question will require a deep understanding of the physical and chemical evolution of the interstellar medium (ISM).  I will present both astronomical observations and laboratory spectroscopic studies which aim to further our understanding of the complex organic chemical inventories present in the ISM.  These inventories provide the initial conditions which drive the formation pathways to glycine and other life-essential molecules in space.