Focus on Alumni

Kat Gardner-Vandy, LPL 2012 alumna, cannot remember a time in her life where she was not completely entranced by what lay beyond the earth’s atmosphere. Today, she serves as an assistant professor of aviation and space at Oklahoma State University, where she shapes the minds of the next generation of engineers, astronauts, and space enthusiasts.

A new study, led by LPL Alum Rachel Fernandes (2023), finds A combination of cosmic processes shapes the formation of one of the most common types of planets outside of our solar system.

A $50K grant and visionary guidance lead to $1M NASA-funded asteroid research project to be led by LPL alumnus Adam Battle.

LPL alum Tom Jones flew as member for four Space Shuttle crews.

The name Barlow was officially adopted by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) for a prominent, ~87 km-diameter crater located in the northern portion of Sinai Planum (11.65°S, 270.09°E) on Mars. The name approval commemorates Dr. Nadine Barlow (1958–2020), noted leader in the field of Mars crater studies.

Dr. Ali Bramson, 2018 LPL Alum, receives 2024 Ronald Greeley Early Career Award in Planetary Sciences from the American Geophysical Union.

Dr. Tom Schad (2013) is first author of the study that promises to enhance our understanding of the Sun’s atmosphere and how its changing conditions lead to impacts on Earth’s technology-dependent society.

The Division for Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society awarded Jamie Molaro (2015) the 2024 Carl Sagan Medal for outstanding communication by an active planetary scientist to the public.

Dr. Jamie Molaro (2015) is a Research Scientist at the Planetary Science Institute studying weathering and landscape evolution on airless icy and rocky bodies. After receiving her Ph.D. from the University of Arizona in 2015, she obtained a NASA Postdoctoral Program Fellow at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where she is geographically based.

LPL alumna Kelly Miller (2016) received a 2023 NASA Planetary Science Early Career Award in recognition of demonstrated leadership, involvement in the planetary science community, and potential for future impact.