PTYS/LPL Faculty
Kuiper 409B ∙ HAR 246A
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Victor Baker
Regents' Professor
Astrobiology, Planetary Surfaces, Geomorphology
Research interests divide into the areas of planetary geology, Earth geomorphology and paleohydrology, and issues of science and society in relation to policy, the environment, and philosophy.
My research in planetary paleohydrology focuses on the morphology, genesis, and geological/geophysical/hydrological implications of various channels, valleys, and related landforms on Mars and Venus. My students and I relate these geomorphological features to volcanic, tectonic, and atmospheric processes. Other important considerations for Mars include the conditions that may have provided habitats for life.
I also conduct field investigations of the Late Pleistocene megafloods that impacted what is now the northwestern United States. We are applying 2-D computational models to our analyses of this flooding, which provides a terrestrial analog to ancient channel-forming processes on Mars.
For the past 30 years, my students and I have been investigating Holocene paleoflood records from the southwestern U.S. We have also been studying the geomorphology of the spectacular southern Arizona debris flows of late July 2006. The applied flood-hazard work leads to concern with public policy issues and the public perception of science.
Ph.D., 1971, Colorado
Years with LPL: 1981 to present
Current Grants
- Obliquity-controlled Water Vapor/Trace Gas in the Martian Greenhouse Cycle (NASA-JPL)
- Geomorphic Investigations of Martian Channel Morphology (NASA)
Former Spacecraft Involvement
- Skylab, PI
- Apollo-Soyuz, Co-Investigator
- Viking, guest investigator
- Magellan, Radar Investigation Team
- Mars Odyssey, Gamma Ray Spectrometer Team
- NASA Autonomous Sciencecraft Experiment
Former Students
- Patrick Harner, 2015 (M.S. PTYS)
- Andrea Jones, 2009 (M.S. Geosciences)
- Windy Jaeger, 2005 (Ph.D. PTYS)
- Daniel Berman, 2003 (M.S. Geosciences)
- Devon Burr, 2003 (Ph.D. Geosciences)
- Randy Tufts, 1998 (Ph.D. Geosciences)
- Jonathan Pedicino, 1996 (Ph.D. PTYS)
- Jeffrey Johnson, 1994 (Ph.D. Geosciences)
- Goro Komatsu, 1993 (Ph.D. PTYS)
- David Melendrez, 1991 (M.S. Geosciences)
- Virginia Gulick, 1987 (M.S. Geosciences), 1993 (Ph.D. Geosciences)
Former Postdocs
- Goro Komatsu (1994-1996)
- Hideaki Miyamoto (2002-2004)
Complete publications list available from: NASA ADS Author search: Victor R. Baker
Refereed publications (NASA ADS): Calendar Years 2017 through 2019
Fink, W., Baker, V. R., Brooks, A. J.-W., Flammia, M., Dohm, J. M., Tarbell, M. A. Globally optimal rover traverse planning in 3D using Dijkstra's algorithm for multi-objective deployment scenarios 2019P&SS..17904707F
Fairén, A. G., Schulze-Makuch, D., Whyte, L., Parro, V., Pavlov, A., Gómez-Elvira, J., Azua-Bustos, A., Fink, W., Baker, V. Planetary Protection and the astrobiological exploration of Mars: Proactive steps in moving forward 2019AdSpR..63.1491F
Rodriguez, J. A. P., Baker, V. R., Liu, T., Zarroca, M., Travis, B., Hui, T., Komatsu, G., Berman, D. C., Linares, R., Sykes, M. V., Banks, M. E., Kargel, J. S. The 1997 Mars Pathfinder Spacecraft Landing Site: Spillover Deposits from an Early Mars Inland Sea 2019NatSR...9.4045R
Balbas, A. M., Barth, A. M., Clark, P. U., Clark, J., Caffee, M., O'Connor, J., Baker, V. R., Konrad, K., Bjornstad, B. 10Be dating of late Pleistocene megafloods and Cordilleran Ice Sheet retreat in the northwestern United States 2017Geo....45..583B
Latrubesse, E. M., Arima, E. Y., Dunne, T., Park, E., Baker, V. R., D'Horta, F. M., Wight, C., Wittmann, F., Zuanon, J., Baker, P. A., Ribas, C. C., Norgaard, R. B., Filizola, N., Ansar, A., Flyvbjerg, B., Stevaux, J. C. Damming the rivers of the Amazon basin 2017Natur.546..363L
Baker, V. R. V Debates—Hypothesis testing in hydrology: Pursuing certainty versus pursuing uberty 2017WRR....53.1770B
| Available files | Size | Created |
|---|---|---|
 Baker_abbrevCV082017.pdf | 930.63 KB | December 12, 2018 |