Spring

Morgan Cryder: PTYS Undergraduate Minor

Morgan Cryder is a rising senior majoring in Geosciences with a minor in Math as well as Planetary Sciences. Morgan chose Planetary Sciences because she is just as curious about the other planets in our solar system as she is about the Earth. Morgan says, "I find it really interesting that I can apply what I learned in my geoscience studies or classes to other bodies in our solar system." Morgan has enjoyed all of her PTYS courses but says that the Mars course taught by Regents Professor Alfred McEwen was most memorable. The class was able to request HiRISE images and at the end of the course and each student presented on different Mars topics. Morgan felt that through this course she was able to really understand more about the red planet.

Morgan is currently researching Martian wrinkles with Associate Professor Jeff Andrew-Hanna. They have been analyzing the variability of these ridges and creating different codes to get better data on the characteristics of these ridges. In March, she presented this research at the 53rd Lunar and Planetary Science Conference.

Morgan is still undecided on the direction she wants to take her education and career. This summer she is participating in a petroleum camp and is looking forward to applying those new skills to her research. She hopes that she can incorporate both earth science and space science into her future career.

Hitachi Scholarship in Electron Microscopy

The Kuiper Materials Imaging and Characterization Facility awards the Hitachi Scholarship in Electron Microscopy annually to two graduate students generating cutting-edge research and publications in the area of electron microscopy. The scholarship was established by Hitachi High-Technologies as part of their partnership with University of Arizona.

PTYS graduate student Zoë Wilbur is one of the scholarship recipients for 2022/2023. Zoë's research focuses on unraveling the mysteries of lunar volcanism through the chemical analysis of Apollo samples. Additionally, Zoë is interested in the formation and evolution of meteorites, and what they can tell us about volatile elements in our solar system. Zoë is entering her fourth year as a graduate student; she is advised by Assistant Professor Jessica Barnes.

"The Hitachi Electron Microscopy Scholarship will give me the financial freedom to focus on advancing my research this upcoming year, with the goal of publishing a first-author paper about how understudied Apollo 17 samples erupted onto the lunar surface," says Zoë.

Yi Zhang, a sixth-year Ph.D. student in Materials Science & Engineering, is also a recipient of the Hitachi Electron Microscopy Scholarship for the year. Yi studies additively manufactured nickel-based superalloys, a group of alloys used widely in aviation. The research includes characterizing the interactions of microstructures and defects in the alloys and studying how the interactions correlate with fatigue performance. The Hitachi Electron Microscopy Scholarship was a great encouragement for Yi and a great recognition of her work, especially as a woman in STEM whose goal is to be a researcher, a metallurgist and a materials engineer. This award made her more confident in her ability as well as in realizing her goal. The award helped buffer her living expenses especially during this pandemic period and has enabled Yi to spend more time on her research.

2022 Curson Travel Awards

Xiaohang Chen, Emileigh Shoemaker, Lucas Smith, and Jada Walters are 2022 recipients of the Curson Travel Award.

The Curson Education Plus Fund in Planetary Sciences and LPL was established by Shirley Curson, a generous donor and friend of LPL, for the purpose of supporting travel expenses outside the state of Arizona during summer break. The award is open to students in the Department of Planetary Sciences and Lunar and Planetary Laboratory who propose to fund study, museum visits, special exhibits, seminars, instruction, competitions, research and other endeavors that are beyond those provided by the normal campus environment and are not part of the student’s regular curriculum during the recipient’s school year.

To donate to the Curson Travel fund, visit: https://give.uafoundation.org/science-lpl


 
Xiaohang Chen
Travel to Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab to present at the Parker Two 2022 Conference

 
Emileigh Shoemaker

 

Lucas Smith
Travel to Washington University to train on NanoSIM and Nanoprobe instruments

 
Jada Walters
Travel to work with mentors at Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory

OSIRIS-REx Mission Team Wins 2022 Swigert Award for Space Exploration

The OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return mission team was selected to receive the 2022 John L. "Jack" Swigert Jr. Award for Space Exploration by the Space Foundation, a nonprofit organization that advocates for space exploration and space-inspired industries. The award was presented on April 4 during the opening ceremony of the 37th Space Symposium in Colorado Springs. The award recognizes extraordinary accomplishments in the realm of space exploration and discovery and honors the memory of astronaut John L. "Jack" Swigert Jr., one of the inspirations for the creation of the Space Foundation.

"I am enormously grateful to the Space Foundation for this honor," said LPL Regents Professor Dante Lauretta, principal investigator of the OSIRIS-REx mission. "The OSIRIS-REx team represents the pinnacle of human achievement. Team members have diverse backgrounds, skillsets and expertise. Together, we overcame numerous challenges to successfully collect a massive sample from asteroid Bennu. The best times are ahead of us, and the team is busy preparing for the analysis of these scientific treasures from outer space."

LPL Field Trip Spring 2022

by Shane Byrne 

This semester (Spring 2022), the LPL field trip (PTYS 590) headed off to the Mojave Desert in California armed with various remote sensing datasets. There is a wide variety of test data in the Mojave from Synthetic Aperture Radars to visible wavelength cameras and there is an even wider range of geologic features to examine, from sand dunes to lava flows. We often spend a lot of time looking at data from places we’ll never see in person, so this was a chance for us to do both!

The next destination was a volcanic crater known as Kilbourne Hole, where the LPLers saw a textbook example of stratigraphy On the first evening, we stopped at the giant Kelso sand dunes and tried to figure out how to explain their radar appearance in different bands. A sunset hike to the top allowed us to take in a gorgeous moonrise from the summit. We experienced the Kelso dunes’ rare ability to boom. Booming dunes make low rumbling sounds during sand avalanches thanks to their very specifically shaped and sized sand grains.

The desert southwest has a lot of playas and the Mojave is no exception. We visited two of these dry lake beds with very different radar signatures. Soda Lake (a bone-jarring hour-long drive down dirt roads) is still connected to the subterranean Mojave River and is wet just below the surface, whereas Broadwell Playa is hydrologically isolated and dry.

The Mojave has plenty of volcanos and we were able to visit cinder cones and lava flows at Cima, Pisgah, and Amboy. The different flows at these sites have very different radar behavior that is a proxy for their age. We camped beside the most recent (~11 thousand years old). Although a bit hard to scramble into, caves at Cima and Pisgah added an astrobiological dimension to the trip. Data from airborne spectrometers help us figure out the weathering state of the cinder cones and composition of other geologic units.

Our last night was spent near the town of Amboy on Route 66 (a ghost town that refuses to die). Roy’s motel will always be beloved by the group and the high winds we had that night certainly made the last campsite memorable. The Mojave is always a favorite as it teaches all kinds of things about remote sensing, geology, and four-wheel-drive controls.


You can support LPL field trips with a gift to the Wilkening-Sill Field Trip Fund: https://give.uafoundation.org/science-lpl

Gathering at top of a cinder cone in the Cima Volcanic Field.
Aerial view of the campsite at the edge of a young lava flow. Photo courtesy of student Nathan Hadland and his drone.
                                    
 
 

2022 Showman Distinguished Visiting Lecture by Heather Knutson

Professor Heather Knutson of Caltech visited LPL from April 18-21 as the inaugural speaker for the Showman Distinguished Lectureship. Professor Knutson studies the dynamics and chemistry of extrasolar planetary atmospheres, one of the many fields in which Professor Adam Showman conducted pioneering research. During her stay, she gave a colloquium on Exploring the Mysterious Origins of Super-Earths and Mini-Neptunes and a special seminar titled Bulk Compositions of Small Planets Orbiting Small Stars. Faculty, students, and postdoctoral scholars from LPL and Steward Observatory had the opportunity to meet Professor Knutson and discuss their research.

To support the Showman Distinguished Lectureship, please go to: https://give.uafoundation.org/science-lpl

NASA deputy administrator: UArizona a 'Crown Jewel' for the US

 

"What makes this university unique is the same thing that makes NASA unique: its people." NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy speaks during a press conference at the University of Arizona on May 6, 2022.Chris Richards
 
By Daniel Stolte, University Communications
May 6, 2022
 

NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy visited the University of Arizona Friday to meet with Senior Vice President for Research and Innovation Elizabeth "Betsy" Cantwell and eight campus researchers involved in some of the space agency's largest and most impactful missions. During a press conference immediately following the meeting, Melroy discussed the university's critical role in NASA projects.

Melroy recognized UArizona as "a huge and important partner for NASA, with a towering reputation in astronomy, planetary science and astrophysics, and world-ranked across all disciplines" and as a "crown jewel for the United States."

"As the world has become more competitive, and we are competing for technological capability around the world, our university system is still the envy of the rest of the world, and the University of Arizona is a critical piece of that," Melroy said.

She pointed out the numerous partnerships between NASA and the state of Arizona, which is ranked in the top 10 states for pursuing activities funded by the space agency, amounting to just over $900 million in economic impact and more than 5,000 jobs.

"Some of the most inspiring things and pictures that we have seen over the last couple of years have very strong roots right here," Melroy said, pointing to the James Webb Telescope, or JWST, as the most recent example. UArizona Regents Professor Marcia Rieke is the principal investigator for NIRCam, one of the space observatory's most important instruments.

JWST will provide glimpses into the early universe, during a time when the first stars and galaxies formed, potentially unlocking some of the rules of how the universe works, Melroy said.

The former astronaut, who helped assemble the International Space Station, also shared her excitement about the UArizona-led asteroid sample return mission OSIRIS-REx, and said she looks forward to getting the samples back to Earth next year.

The return of extraterrestrial samples, including moon samples, "are very much on NASA's mind right now," she said, fueled by ambitions to send astronauts back to the moon and, eventually, to Mars.

One of only two women to command a space shuttle, Melroy hinted at future scenarios in which "science is front and center" as humans and machines explore other worlds side by side, and she emphasized the critical mission that institutions like UArizona play in paving the way for such endeavors, particularly with regard to developing technology and educating the highly skilled workforce that will be up to such challenges.

Melroy said she was particularly impressed to hear that current students express an interest in studying the climate on other planets, driven by a desire to glean insights into better understanding our own planet and its potential transformations under the effects of a changing climate.

"The first person to set foot on Mars will be a scientist, and they're alive and in school today," she said.

NASA announced in April that Dani DellaGiustina, a UArizona alumna, would lead the OSIRIS-APEX mission – an extension of OSIRIS-REx mission that will visit near-Earth asteroid Apophis and, like OSIRIS-REx, yield fundamental knowledge about the origin of terrestrial planets and strategies to avoid potential asteroid impacts on Earth.

"The same thing that makes NASA unique," Melroy said, "is what makes UArizona unique: its people."

"The university has been dedicated to the highest-quality scientists, and it has been at the leading edge for a long time," she added. "Even when I was applying to grad schools, this was the place that you wanted to get into."

While on campus, Melroy also expressed her gratitude to U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly's office for helping the university's Alfie Norville Gem & Mineral Museum obtain a lunar rock sample that was picked up by astronaut Jim Irwin during the Apollo 15 mission.

The rock, which is on loan to the university, is currently on display at the museum.

"I think NASA can afford to give away a slice of that rock. because we're going back to get more," Melroy said.

During her visit, Melroy heard presentations from the following UArizona researchers: 

  • DellaGiustina, assistant professor of planetary sciences, deputy principal investigator and image processing lead scientist for NASA's OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return mission, and principal investigator of OSIRIS-APEX, which will visit near-Earth asteroid Apophis.
  • Rieke, Regents Professor of Astronomy and principal investigator for the Near Infrared Camera, or NIRCam, instrument onboard NASA's James Webb Space Telescope.
  • Amy Mainzer, professor of planetary sciences and director of NASA's NEO Surveyor, a space-based survey designed to discover and measure asteroids and comets that could pose an impact hazard to Earth. 
  • Carlos Vargas, assistant astronomer at Steward Observatory and principal investigator for NASA's Aspera mission, which will study galaxy evolution with a space telescope barely larger than a mini fridge.
  • Kristopher Klein, assistant professor of planetary sciences and deputy principal investigator for NASA's HelioSwarm mission, a "swarm" of nine spacecraft that will set out to better understand plasma, the state of matter that makes up 99% of the visible universe.
  • Shane Byrne, professor of planetary sciences and co-investigator for the High Resolution Imaging Experiment, or HiRISE, camera onboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. 
  • Pierre Haenecour, assistant professor of planetary sciences and sample science co-investigator for OSIRIS-REx. 
  • Erika Hamden, assistant professor of astronomy and principal investigator of Hyperion, a mission designed to observe molecular hydrogen in our galaxy to better understand how stars form

Stefano Nerozzi, UArizona Galileo Circle Postdoctoral Scholar Award

Dr. Stefano Nerozzi was awarded the UArizona Galileo Circle Postdoctoral Scholar Award. Dr. Nerozzi is the Science Principal Investigator on a selected NASA Mars Data Analysis Program proposal to study the intricate fluvial and geologic history of outflow channel systems in Utopia Planitia on Mars. He was recently selected for the Early Career section of the International Mars Ice Mapper (IMIM) Measurement Definition Team (MDT) for his expertise in Mars radar sounding, geomorphology, terrestrial analogues, and geomechanical stability of icy deposits. Stefano is also committed to fostering undergraduate research and supporting diversity within his research group assistants. He has been with LPL since January of 2020.

Brittany Miles, 51 Peg b Fellow

Brittany Miles has been named a 51 Pegasi b Fellow in Planetary Astronomy by the Heising-Simons Foundation. Brittany will receive her Ph.D. in astronomy and astrophysics from the University of California, Santa Cruz, in summer 2022. Brittany’s expertise lies in mid-infrared observations of brown dwarfs—astronomical objects that share properties with both planets and stars. By placing unique constraints on the atmospheric structures of these cold objects, she provides a template for predicting and interpreting future direct images of cooler exoplanets. Her brown dwarf observations inform her work as an instrumentalist who retrofits and tests detector capabilities to support more precise characterization of exoplanets.  

As a Peg b Fellow at UArizona, Brittany will continue her observations of brown dwarf atmospheres to obtain data on cloud composition and behavior. As co-principal investigator on a James Webb Space Telescope proposal, she will explore the coldest known brown dwarf to inspect possible water clouds and water vapor and infer how such features may behave on gas giant exoplanets. Brittany also plans to enhance the sensitivity of ground-based instruments to capture images of more Earth-like planets. Her work will be instrumental to the field as more large telescopes come online. The 51 Pegasi b Fellowship provides exceptional postdoctoral scientists with the opportunity to conduct theoretical, observational, and experimental research in planetary astronomy.

Established in 2017, the Heising-Simons Foundation 51 Pegasi b Fellowship is named for the first exoplanet discovered orbiting a Sun-like star. 

Feng Long, Sagan Fellow

Dr. Feng Long is a Sagan Fellow (NASA Hubble Fellowship Program) whose research focus is the formation and evolution of protoplanetary disks—the cradle of young planets. In particular, she uses the powerful radio interferometers to study the physical and chemical properties of protoplanetary disks, and thereby to identify key aspects of the planet-formation process. Her past works have demonstrated the prevalence of gap and ring features in disks, which are the likely imprints of young planets. As a Sagan Fellow at LPL, Feng will employ observational data from cutting-edge facilities to establish the impact of these disk features on planet formation and to study the associated young planet population. She aims at better understanding the earliest phase of planet formation, and to shed light on the origin of the observed diversity in exoplanet properties. 

Feng Long was born and grew up in the southwest mountain area of China. After receiving her bachelor's degree in astronomy from Peking University in 2013, she stayed to complete her Ph.D. in 2019. She then moved to the U.S. and has since been a Submillimeter Array Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian. 

The NHFP is one of the highlights of NASA’s pursuit of excellence in astrophysics. The program enables outstanding postdoctoral scientists to pursue independent research in any area of NASA Astrophysics, using theory, observation, experimentation, or instrument development.