PTYS/LPL Research Scientists
Joseph Schools
Researcher/Scientist
Ph.D., 2020, University of Maryland, College Park
Years with LPL: 2023 to present
My research focuses on the study of planetary interiors through geodynamic and petrological modeling. I create models of silicate melt processes in the lithosphere of planetary bodies in order to constrain their interior structures in the absence of instrumentation. I am particularly interested in the tectonic-magmatic processes of Venus and Jupiter's moon Io.
I obtained my Bachelor's in Earth and Planetary Science (with a concentration in Planetary Science) from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 2014, followed by my PhD in Geology from the University of Maryland, College Park in 2020. My PhD dissertation focused on modeling the behavior of silicate melt in the lithospheres of Mars and Jupiter's moon Io in order to explain surface volcanic expression and interior melt distribution. Most recently I was a NASA Postdoctoral Program Fellow at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory from 2020 to 2023, working on modeling the formation of features known as corona on the surface of Venus.
Schools, J., & Montési, L. G. J. (2022). Barriers to Melt Ascent in the Lithosphere of Io with Applications to Heat Pipe Formation. Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, e2021JE007031. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JE007031
Schools, J. W. (2020). Dynamic Melt Processes in the Lithospheres of Mars and Io. University of Maryland, PhD dissertation. https://doi.org/10.13016/okws-taun
Schools, J. W., & Montési, L. G. J. (2018). The generation of barriers to melt ascent in the Martian lithosphere. Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, 123, 47–66. https://doi.org/10.1002/2017JE005396
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