Department News

Singleton Thibodeaux-Yost, Science Operations Engineer with HiRISE, was selected by the American Geophysical Union (AGU) as an advocate in the Voices for Science program. Singleton was selected from a highly competitive applicant pool for her strong communication skills and enthusiasm for communicating the importance of Earth and Space Science to lawmakers, the press, and the public. As part of the Voices for Science class of 2019, Singleton had the opportunity to attend an interactive two-day workshop in Washington, D.C., which focused on building skills and toolkits for communication and policy development. The Voices for Science program provides for additional networking and collaboration opportunities with this year's other 34 program participants as well as members of the 2018 Voices for Science cohort. The Voices for Science program will provide funding for travel and registration to the Fall 2019 AGU Meeting, to be held in San Francisco, December 9-13.

The 2019 Voices for Science cohort includes 5 participants from the University of Arizona (UA). The UA group plans to develop a “Science & Policy Cafe” on campus and to host monthly luncheons to discuss topics like current political trends and how they relate to science funding and how science is applied to decision-making and governing. Singleton says, "We will provide resources to stay engaged, and tips and training on how to build relationships with legislators. We will also be inviting guest speakers who have dealt with the application of science to policy in the real world."

Congratulations to Molly Simon and Joshua Lothringer, LPL's newest alumni!

On May 7, Molly defended her dissertation, Part I: How Did We Get Here? College Students' Preinstructional Ideas on the Topic of Planet Formation, and the Development of the Planet Formation Concept Inventory; Part II: Evidence for Magnetically Driven Protoplanetary Disk Winds. Molly's advisor was Professor Chris Impey. She is set to begin a position as Education Postdoctoral Fellow with Zooniverse at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago.

Joshua defended his dissertation, Characterizing the Atmospheres of Exoplanet Populations: From Sub-Jovian to Ultra-Hot Jupiter Exoplanets, on May 31. In August, Joshua will begin a postdoctoral fellowship at Johns Hopkins University. Joshua was the recipient of the 2019 Theoretical Astrophysics Program (TAP) Graduate Student Research Prize. He presented his prize talk, Extremely Irradiated Hot Jupiters: Non-Oxide Inversions, H- Opacity, and Thermal Dissociation of Molecules, on April 1. Professor Travis Barman served as Joshua's advisor.

Dr. Steve Kortenkamp, LPL Associate Professor of Practice, is combining the capabilities of 3D printers with high-resolution spacecraft data (including those from LPL’s HiRISE instrument orbiting Mars) to produce tactile models of planetary terrain. The effort is part of an NSF-funded research project being carried out with his colleagues Drs. Sunggye Hong and Irene Topor in UA’s College of Education. Their group is designing and teaching a planetary science course for young students who are blind or visually impaired, with the aim of identifying ways to increase the representation of these students in STEM fields.

Kortenkamp is developing techniques that begin with software processing of spacecraft data; 3D printing of prototype models is added, culminating with a method of molding and casting duplicates of the models for each of his students. His work with the blind and visually impaired was featured at a Science City booth during the Tucson Festival of Books in March.

During the first year, Dr. Kortenkamp’s students are focusing on impact craters as a tool for studying planetary characteristics. They begin their studies locally by exploring 3D models of Arizona’s Meteor Crater. Then they reach out to the Moon by studying Tycho, Orientale Basin, and the near-side/far-side surface dichotomy. The class culminates on Mars with terrain that reveals evidence of water, such as craters in Athabasca Valles as well as Gusev and Gale craters. In subsequent years, Kortenkamp’s class will include 3D models of volcanoes, canyons, dune fields, asteroids, and cometary nuclei.

Dr. Kortenkamp (right) with his 3D models at Science City. The visitor is using her fingers to read the Braille label on a model of the Moon’s Tycho Crater.

Cast of a 3D-printed model of Gale Crater on Mars. Gale’s central mountain complex is currently being explored by NASA’s Curiosity rover. (Model includes Braille label. Standard Sharpie marker shown for scale.)

Dr. Michael Sori was presented with the Outstanding Postdoctoral Scholar Award at the 2019 Awards of Distinction Luncheon and Ceremony, on April 1st.

After receiving his Ph.D. in Planetary Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dr. Michael Sori joined the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Sciences Laboratory in 2014 to pursue postdoctoral training under the mentorship of Dr. Christopher Hamilton and Dr. Shane Byrne. Dr. Sori’s research spans a variety of topics in planetary geophysics, including the origin and evolution of ices and what they tell us about the climates and orbital histories of planets, and how volcanism helps to shape planetary surfaces. Using remote sensing data from spacecraft to inform his geophysical models, he has contributed greatly to the study of the Moon, Mars, Ceres, and Uranian satellites.

Dr. Sori has made outstanding contributions to University of Arizona’s research, outreach, and teaching missions. Since beginning his tenure as a postdoctoral scholar, he has obtained his own funding through NASA and published 14 peer-reviewed articles in high-profile journals such as Nature and Science. These publications illustrate the breadth of his technical ability and understanding of fundamental scientific problems. His discoveries have caught the public’s eye, with one being among the University’s highest profile news stories in 2018. His classroom teaching and mentoring have also earned him the reputation of being a “natural educator.” The University of Arizona is privileged to serve as the postdoctoral home for Michael Sori who is, in the words of his nominators, “a talented and reliable collaborator, an insightful scientist, a great mentor, and a respected role model within our department and within the broader Planetary Sciences community.”

Dr. Pranabendu Moitra joined LPL in August 2018 as a Postdoctoral Research Associate working with Associate Professor Jeffrey Andrews-Hanna. Pranabendu is broadly interested in understanding magma migration and volcanic eruption on Earth and other planetary bodies. His current research focuses on explosive magma-water interaction and volcanic eruption dynamics on Mars. He combines observation and modeling to tackle his current research problems.

Pranabendu grew up in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. He completed his M.Sc. in Applied Geology from Jadavpur University, India, in 2008. He received a Ph.D. in Earth Science with a focus on physical volcanology in 2015 from Rice University. His Ph.D. topic focused on the violent eruption of basaltic magma combining rheology experiments, field observation, and numerical modeling. Before arriving at LPL, Pranabendu was a postdoctoral researcher and an adjunct instructor at the University at Buffalo.

LPL webmaster Joshua Sosa (Web Site Designer/Developer, Senior) received a CoSSAC Professional Development Grant in support of travel to DrupalCon 2019, held April 8-12 in Seattle. Highlights included sessions on database optimization, Drupal migration strategies, and real-time asynchronous tools.

Joshua received a B.A.S. in Internet and Web Development from Arizona State University in 2017 and is currently working on his M.S. in Technology, also from Arizona State University. Joshua is an active member of the UA Digital Team, which works with UA Brand to develop (primarily Drupal) web assets to the university community.

This year, LPL presented two outstanding staff awards: Amy Brenton (administrative staff) and Chris Schaller (science/engineering staff).

Amy Brenton serves as academic advisor for the PTYS graduate program and for the undergraduate minor programs in Planetary Sciences and Astrobiology. She is responsible for helping our students navigate policies and procedures and helping them to achieve their academic goals. Amy is also dedicated to making the department a more welcoming and inclusive place for all students; her door (real or virtual) is always open, and she is known to invite students to visit for conversation and homemade cookies with the goal of building better and more open relationships with our students.

To better support our students, she has developed relationships with other campus advisors as well as staff at the Graduate College and the Graduate and Professional Student Center and works closely with the advising community on campus, including the University Professional Advising Council (UPAC). In addition to attending regular UPAC meetings, Amy makes a point of expanding her knowledge and experience by participating in professional development opportunities such as workshops geared toward improving student services and communication: e.g., trainings on having difficult conversations, how to address mental and emotional concerns, and regularly using her lunch hour to participate in advisor training sessions. She also volunteers to represent the department at university events like the Meet Your Major Fair—PTYS had previously never been represented at these types of events.

Her dedication to advising and professional development was recognized in 2019, when she was named an outstanding advisor by the UArizona Advising Resource Center (ARC). Amy was recognized as one of the “most professionally active and engaging advisors on campus” and cited for her commitment to advising and professional growth, including her participation in campus advising seminars and advising learning communities on campus.  She received a UPAC travel grant (supplemented by a College of Science Staff Advisory Committee professional development grant) in support of travel to the annual National Academic Advising Association conference, where she had the opportunity to learn more about current advising topics such as recognizing the unique needs of individual students in dealing with mental health, advocacy, and communication.

In addition to excelling at these fundamental advising roles, Amy goes "above and beyond" to serve the LPL community by supporting department functions such as coordinating the LPL social media posts, which includes regular meetings with UA Communications and other departments and groups within LPL to learn about the networking requirements; serving as LPL’s CoSSAC representative since 2015 (she was committee chairperson for 2018-2019); helping to produce the semesterly print newsletters; and participating in outreach events such as Summer Science Saturday. To summarize, Amy pitches in to assist with any and all tasks in the department, including co-hosting the LPL holiday party in recent years.

Amy is an outstanding member of the LPL staff for the dedication and excellence she demonstrates in all her efforts on behalf of LPL.

As lead Spacecraft Operations Software Engineer for the HiRISE and CaSSIS instruments, Chris Schaller is primarily responsible for developing and maintaining the planning and targeting software for the two instruments. His technical expertise and careful implementation are critical to project success. For HiRISE in particular, Chris has been responsible for software development and technical understanding of critical areas, including the complicated matter of precise timing of HiRISE instrument operation steps, which is key to targeting accuracy and analysis of instrument anomalies. Similarly, Chris has developed the detailed procedure needed to swap sides of the block-redundant electronics.

Chris has been described as a conscientious and inclusive developer who regularly solicits feedback from the team members using his software. Based on that feedback, Chris works to improve the usability of his software, proactively adding new features that aid the operations teams in streamlining their processes. The results of this work often reduce the time required to complete daily missing planning tasks by hours. And while his work saves time for others, it also means that Chris works holidays and weekends so that he is available to solve problems in real time; this is especially true of his work with CaSSIS, for which Chris has lead the development of Plan-C and adaptation of HiPlan for the TGO spacecraft and CaSSIS. This has been a continuing effort due to instrument anomalies and changing spacecraft constraints. CaSSIS has now acquired thousands of images of Mars via Plan-C. Chris has been recognized for the excellent work he has done to understand and respond to the needs of both the HiRISE and CaSSIS science teams.

In addition to the responsibilities of his critical role with two spacecraft instruments, Chris has recently played major roles in improving communication within LPL and advancing the interests of LPL across campus. Within LPL, he has facilitated the exchange of expertise across different research groups, culminating in the first "town hall" for technical staff, which helped to inform staff about development proposal and how technical staff could contribute expertise to current and future projects. He has represented LPL at meetings for the proposed Advanced Research Building, advocating for infrastructure to support future LPL instrumentation and science. He has also represented LPL at meetings related to the UArizona Space Institute (UASI) and represents the science/engeineering staff at LPL faculty meetings.

This award recognizes not only Chris' consistent outstanding work with HiRISE and CaSSIS, but also his recent advocacy, leadership, and engagement with staff issues, which demonstrates a long-standing and deep commitment to LPL.

Zach Adam recently joined LPL as an Associate Staff Scientist with a focus on the origins of life, the origins of eukaryotes, and the possible distribution of complex life in our universe. He came to LPL after a postdoc fellowship through the Simons Collaboration on the Origins of Life, where he and his colleagues conducted gamma ray irradiation experiments on aqueous mixtures of simple carbon compounds. Together they discovered new, efficient pathways for the production each of the precursors predicted for RNA World scenarios. Before this assignment, he was a graduate student at Montana State University, where he discovered two new sources of microfossils in the rocks of the Belt Supergroup. These microfossils included beautifully preserved specimens of some of the oldest eukaryotes known from the fossil record. And before this he was a launch vehicle inspector for the federal government, where he got the chance to serve on the licensing teams for the SpaceX Falcon 1, Falcon 9 and Dragon and Sea Launch Zenit-3SL programs.

Outside of work, Zach loves playing games with his wife and baby son, running in all kinds of weather, and fixing broken machines. He is moved by a strong (and perhaps naive) belief that the cultivation of knowledge follows universal patterns.

PTYS alumnus Dr. Moses Milazzo facilitated a Bystander Intervention Workshop at LPL on October 29. Among the thirty-two participants were faculty, staff, and graduate students from LPL and Steward Observatory. Dr. Milazzo created the U.S.G.S. StepUp! Employee Empowerment Strategies, based on the University of Arizona's StepUp! Bystander Intervention Program and adapted to the professional science environment (e.g., conference experiences).