Cosmochemistry

Cosmochemistry

    Planetary Materials are those pieces of condensed matter that were leftover from the time that our solar system formed over 4.5 billion years ago. Current emphasis is on determining the structure of materials at the atomic scale using transmission electron microscopy. In addition, we are pursuing instrumentation to analyze samples that will be brought back from asteroids and other Solar System bodies in the 2020s.

    Planetary Materials Research Group

    Planetary Materials are those pieces of condensed matter that were leftover from the time that our solar system formed over 4.5 billion years ago. Such materials include interplanetary dust particles, pre-solar grains, primitive meteorites and soils from the Moon and asteroids. The Planetary Materials Research Group studies the constituent minerals within such samples at scales ranging from micrometers down to the atomic. We use information on crystal structure and chemistry to understand the conditions under which such minerals formed.

    Cosmochemistry Faculty

    Jessica Barnes

    Assistant Professor

    Cosmochemistry, Lunar Studies, Planetary Analogs

    William Boynton

    Professor Emeritus

    Astrobiology, Cosmochemistry, Lunar Studies, Small Bodies

    Pierre Haenecour

    Assistant Professor

    Astrobiology, Cosmochemistry, Planetary Astronomy, Small Bodies

    Dante Lauretta

    Director, Arizona Astrobiology Center, Principal Investigator, OSIRIS-REx, Regents Professor

    Astrobiology, Cosmochemistry, Small Bodies

    Vishnu Reddy

    Professor

    Cosmochemistry, Planetary Astronomy, Planetary Surfaces, Small Bodies, Space Situational Awareness

    Timothy Swindle

    Professor Emeritus

    Cosmochemistry, Lunar Studies, Small Bodies, Theoretical Astrophysics

    Tom Zega

    Professor

    Astrobiology, Cosmochemistry, Small Bodies

    Cosmochemistry Researchers

    Maizey Benner

    PTYS Graduate Student

    Cosmochemistry

    Jacob Bernal

    DCC Postdoctoral Research Associate (Zega), NSF Postdoctoral Fellow

    Astrobiology, Cosmochemistry, Small Bodies

    Elias Bloch

    Researcher/Scientist

    Cosmochemistry

    Laura Chaves

    Postdoctoral Research Associate

    Cosmochemistry, Small Bodies

    Samuel Crossley

    Researcher/Scientist

    Cosmochemistry, Planetary Analogs, Planetary Formation and Evolution, Small Bodies

    Kana Ishimaru

    PTYS Graduate Student

    Cosmochemistry, Small Bodies

    Nicole Kerrison

    PTYS Graduate Student

    Cosmochemistry

    Melissa Kontogiannis

    PTYS Graduate Student

    Cosmochemistry

    Iunn Ong

    PTYS Graduate Student

    Cosmochemistry

    Beau Prince

    PTYS Graduate Student

    Cosmochemistry

    Lucas Smith

    PTYS Graduate Student

    Astrobiology, Cosmochemistry

    Nathalia Vega Santiago

    PTYS Graduate Student

    Cosmochemistry

    Zoe Wilbur

    PTYS Graduate Student

    Cosmochemistry, Lunar Studies, Planetary Analogs

    Cosmochemistry Support Staff

    Dolores Hill

    Research Specialist, Senior

    Cosmochemistry, Small Bodies