Kelly Kolb
M.S. Planetary Sciences, University of Arizona, May 2008
B.S. Astronomy
and
Astrophysics,
Villanova
University, May 2004
Switzerland for a HiRISE
Team Meeting... The Swiss
Alps
Left: Me and some
glaciers and the
top of Europe
Right: Me in the Ice
Palace at the
top of Europe
Dissertation- Version 5-28-09 (.doc)
Dissertation- Version 5-28-09 (.pdf)
Contact Info
Office:
320 Kuiper Space Sciences
Office
phone: 520-621-1479
Advisor:
Alfred
McEwen
About Me
Hi. My
name is Kelly Kolb, and I am a fifth year graduate student at
LPL. I'm from
NJ, and I graduated from Villanova
University in Pennsylvania with a degree in Astronomy and
Astrophysics. I recently received my
M.S. in Planetary Sciences with a thesis entitled, "Modeling
Bright Gully Deposits in Hale Crater, Mars: Implications for Recent
Liquid Water." I'm primarily interested in studying
water on Mars and space science education and public outreach. I’m currently
working on projects involving
the martian gullies and bright gully deposits in hopes of determining
their formation mechanism using images and digital elevation models
from the HiRISE camera
aboard the Mars
Reconnaissance Orbiter.
I completed
a
minor in Geosciences and am pursuing a certificate in College Science
Teaching and Learning at the
UA.
Here is the link to my
education research project page.
Here
is a link to my programs that combine Mars topography and images.
Here is a link to a Mars
Teacher Workshop I co-organized.
Here
is a link to a Mars education activity that I co-designed.
Research Interests
My current research involves modeling the formation of and activity in
the martian gullies to examine the likelihood of wet or dry processes
occurring. The overall goal of my research is to understand the impact
that liquid water has had on the martian surface in recent
history. I work with high-resolution topography derived from
stereo images from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment
(HiRISE) camera aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. My main area of
research is quantitative geomorphology. I plan to extend my
modeling work to other wet and dry slope processes on Earth and Mars.
I enjoy engaging the public and students in science
through Education and Public Outreach (EPO). As a member of the HiRISE
Science Team, I give tours and informative presentations at the HiRISE
Operations Center. I have participated as a content specialist in
workshops designed to improve teaching quality in Tucson, and I
recently co-organized a teacher workshop entitled “Exploring
Mars.” This workshop included an EPO activity using HiRISE images
that I co-developed originally for a cross-cultural remote sensing
class. I am currently researching alternative conceptions about
water on Mars that exist among middle school science teachers with the
purpose of suggesting future directions for EPO efforts of space
science institutes. In addition to EPO efforts and science
education research, I am very interested in teaching non-science majors
in introductory science courses in order to increase science literacy
in America. I am pursuing a Certificate in College Science Teaching and
Learning which will help me with my teaching pursuits. In the
future, I plan to continue developing EPO materials and work in science
education.
Education
University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona
Ph.D. Planetary Sciences with Geosciences Minor,
expected August 2009
Doctoral Thesis: “Investigating Evidence for
Geologically Recent Liquid Water on Mars”
Certificate in College Science Teaching and
Learning, May 2009
M.S. Planetary Sciences, May 2008
Master’s Thesis: “Modeling Bright Gully Deposits in
Hale Crater, Mars: Implications for Recent Liquid Water”
Villanova University, Villanova, Pennsylvania
B.S. Astronomy and Astrophysics with Physics
Minor, May 2004
Graduate Course
Work
AST 555
Teaching Introductory College Astronomy and Planetary Science (Spring
2009)
STCH
695A Science Education Research (Spring 2009)
EDL 504 Disciplined Inquiry in Education Research (Fall 2008)
EDP
541 Statistical Methods in Education Research (Spring 2008)
STCH
595b Colloquium in Science Teaching and Learning (Spring 2008)
MCB
520 College Science Teaching and Learning (Fall 2007)
STCH
595b Colloquium in Science Teaching and Learning (Fall 2007)
PTYS
594a Geology Field Practicum (Fall 2007)
PTYS
594a Geology Field Practicum (Spring 2007)
PTYS
505B Principles of Planetary Physics B (Spring 2006)
PTYS
512 Planetary Global Tectonics (Spring 2006)
GEOS
596C Fluvial Geomorphology Seminar (Spring 2006)
PTYS
505A Principles of Planetary Physics A (Fall 2005)
GEOS/PTYS 511 Geology of the Solar System (Fall 2005)
GEOS/PTYS
567 Inverse Problems in Geophysics (Fall 2005)
PTYS 507 Chemistry of the Solar System (Spring 2005)
GEOS/PTYS 542 Mars (Spring 2005)
PTYS 554 Evolution of Planetary Surfaces (Spring 2005)
PTYS 510 Principles of Cosmochemistry
(Fall
2004)
PTYS
517 Atmospheres and Remote Sensing (Fall 2004)
PTYS
594a Geology Field Practicum (Fall 2004)
GEOS
578 Global Change (Fall 2004)
Research
Experience
University of
Arizona, Dept. of Planetary
Sciences (Aug. 2004-present)
My work at UA has involved many
aspects. I have been a member of the High Resolution Imaging
Science Experiment
(HiRISE) Camera’s science team and
education and public outreach (EPO) team since May 2005. I have
been involving with calibrating test images and evaluating science
targets for HiRISE, in addition to using HiRISE images in my research.
I co-
developed a classroom activity
(www.lpl.arizona.edu/~kkolb/MappingSurfaceMarsActivity.html) using
HiRISE images, and I am currently the HiRISE website science questions
responder.
My research projects have included
coregistering topography data and high-resolution images of Mars (paper
submitted), modeling and characterizing bright gully deposits on Mars
(paper in prep), analyzing gully debris apron slopes, and determining
gully alcove elevations in Gorgonum Chaos, Mars, among other
projects. I have given oral presentations on my research at
meetings and conferences in Houston, TX, Bern, Switzerland, Volcano,
HI, Flagstaff, AZ, Tucson, AZ, and Pasadena, CA. In 2007, I
co-authored a proposal submitted to the NASA Mars Data Analysis Program
and received a grant of $208K to support my research on the Martian
gullies and fund another graduate student.
NASA Academy, Goddard Space Flight Center (Summer 2003)
I was selected as a participant for
the NASA Academy program, a science leadership internship. This
intensive program provides multidisciplinary exposure to the national
aerospace program. During this program, I was exposed to the many
aspects of NASA and the aerospace industry and had the opportunity to
travel to five NASA centers. I reproduced a water distribution
model for Mars using IDL programming and presented this research at a
conference in Philadelphia, PA (oral).
Villanova
University, Dept. of Astronomy
and Astrophysics (Summer 2002, Spring 2003, Fall 2003)
I worked as a Research Assistant in
Summer 2002 modeling the hot components of symbiotic variable
stars. I presented the
results of this research at
conferences in Philadelphia, PA (oral and poster) and Nashville, TN
(poster) and published a paper on the study in the Astronomical
Journal. During my two semesters of Undergraduate Research, I
determined a temperature for a star using spectral analysis and
determined period-age-activity relations for K0-K5V stars.
Teaching
Experience
• St. Louis, MO, June 1-2, 2008, “Improving the College Introductory Astronomy Survey Course for Non-Science Majors Through
Active Learning: A Tier I (Introductory) Workshop” (16 hours)
Private Tutor in Mathematics and Physics at UA (2007-present)
Content Specialist, Tucson High School, Improving Teaching Quality Workshops
• Fifth grade science teachers, Solar System Unit, Jul. 24, 2007
• Second grade science teachers, Air and Weather Unit, Jul. 26-27, 2007
Teaching Assistant,
• NATS 101 Planet Earth: Evolution of a Habitable World, UA Spring 2005
• NATS 102 The Universe and Humanity: Origin and Destiny, UA Fall 2004
• AST 1075 Planets Lab VU Spring 2004
• AST 1073 Stellar Lab VU Fall 2003, Fall 2002, Fall 2001
Selected Publications and
Presentations (Updated Feb. 2009)
Buxner, S.R., Walker,
C., Kolb, K.J., Martin,
C. 2008. Remote Sensing Mars: A Cross Cultural Project, Lunar Planet.
Sci. XXXIX,
Abstract
2243. Poster Presentation.
Kolb, K.J.,
Aharonson, O., Pelletier, J.D., McEwen, A.S., HiRISE Science Team,
2008. Modeling Bright Gully Deposits’ Formation in
Hale Crater, Lunar
Planet. Sci. XXXIX, Abstract
2114. Oral Presentation.
Kolb, K.J., Aharonson, O., Pelletier, J.D., McEwen, A.S., HiRISE
Science Team, 2008. Modeling Bright Gully Deposits’ Formation in
Hale Crater, Martian
Gullies Workshop, Abstract
8028. Oral Presentation.
Kolb, K.J., Keller, J.M., Novodvorsky, I., 2008. Identifying
Alternative Conceptions about Water on Mars Held by Middle School
Science
Teachers, AGU
Fall Meeting, Abstract 0557.
Poster Presentation.
Kolb, K.J., Keller, J.M.,
Novodvorsky, I., 2009. Investigating Alternative Conceptions
about Water on Mars held by Middle School Science
Teachers, Lunar Planet. Sci. XXXX, Abstract 2143.
Poster Presentation.
Kolb, K.J., McEwen, A.S., Gulick, .C., HiRISE Team, 2007. Bright Gully
Deposits: Geological and Topographical Settings, Seventh
International
Conference on Mars, Abstract
1353. Oral Presentation.
Kolb, K.J., McEwen, A.S., Gulick, V.C., HiRISE Team, 2007. Gullies
Potentially Formed by Water from the Subsurface, Lunar Planet.
Sci. XXXIII,
Abstract
1391. Oral Presentation.
Kolb, K.J., McEwen, A.S., Pelletier, J.D., HiRISE Team, 2007. Bright
Gully Deposits in Hale Crater and Implications for Recent Water,
AGU Fall Meeting,
Abstract
1295. Poster Presentation.
Kolb, K.J., McEwen, A.S., Pelletier, J.D., and the HiRISE Science Team,
2009. Measuring Slopes of Gully Fan Apices using Digital
Elevation Models, Lunar Planet. Sci. XXXX, Abstract
2268. Poster Presentation.
Kolb, K.J., Miller, J.K., Sion, E.M., Mikolajewska, J., 2004. Synthetic
Spectral Analysis of the Hot Component in the S-Type Symbiotic
Variable EG Andromedae, Astronomical Journal, 128,
p. 1790-1794. Paper.
Kolb, K.J. and Okubo, C., 2008. Coregistration of Mars Orbiter Laser
Alimeter (MOLA) Topography with High-Resolution Mars Images,
submitted to Computers
and Geosciences August 2008 (revised January 2009).
Kolb, K.J., Pelletier, J.D., McEwen, A.S., and the HiRISE Team, 2008.
Modeling the Formation of Bright Slope Deposits Associated with
Gullies in Hale Crater, Mars: Implications for
Recent Liquid Water, AGU Fall Meeting,
Abstract
1349. Poster Presentation.
with Gullies in Hale Crater, Mars: Implications for Recent Liquid Water, submitted to Icarus October 2008 (in revision).
McEwen, A.S., and 32 colleagues, 2007. A
Closer Look at Water-Related
Geologic Activity on Mars, Science,
317, 1706-1709. Paper.
Pelletier, J. D., Kolb, K.J., McEwen, A.S., Kirk, R.L., 2008. Recent
bright gully deposits on Mars: Wet or dry flow?, Geology, 36,
211-214. Paper.
Links
UA
Dept. of
Planetary Sciences/ Lunar and Planetary Laboratory
NASA
Academy Alumni Association
Education Project
MOLA + Mars Images Page
Mars Teacher
Workshop Page
Mars Classroom Activity
updated: 5-28-09