2018 Spring Department News

NASA’s largest competed planetary science missions are those in the New Frontiers class. Those familiar with LPL know that the New Frontiers mission OSIRIS-REx, which will return a sample from the near-Earth object Bennu, is being operated out of LPL, with Professor Dante Lauretta as the Principal Investigator. But it

LPL is pleased to announce a new graduate student award named for a former department scientist. The LPL Leif Andersson Award for Service and Outreach will be awarded annually to a PTYS graduate student in recognition for attention to broader impacts and involvement in activities outside of academic responsibilities that

Congratulations, Heather Enos, on receipt of Billy Joe Varney award!

LPL extends best wishes to Joe Gotobed, retiring in June after many years of service to the department. Joe began his career at LPL in 1980 as a Programmer III. He has held a variety of titles through the years, retiring as Information Technology Manager, Principal. For nearly 40 years, Joe has

PTYS undergraduate minor Adriana Mitchell has won a prestigious Goldwater Scholarship, which awards students who show exceptional promise of becoming leaders in their STEM field. The scholarship includes a $7,500 stipend which Adriana will use for summer 2018 travel to Japan to work with the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency in

by Shane Byrne

This semester we returned to Death Valley after a gap of five years (not coincidently, the graduate student turnover timescale!).

Recent flood damage within the park provided the impetus needed to mix up some of the sites we stopped and camped at. Dante’s View is a great

LPL faculty, students, and staff bring science to the community.

The Kuiper Space Sciences Building is getting a fresh look this spring. We're getting new paint on the walls and door frames, and new ceiling tiles. While the Kuiper residents and the crew working around each other was sometimes troublesome for both groups, the results are a huge improvement. Thanks to

Congratulations to Sharon Hooven and Guy McArthur, the 2018 recipient of the LPL Outstanding Staff Awards!

Postdoctoral Research Associate Alexandre Emsenhuber began working at LPL with Professor Erik Asphaug in February 2018. Alexandre's research focuses on collision processes and linking them with orbital dynamics. Collisions between similar-size bodies often leave multiple remnants. By tracking the remnants, Alexandre aims to determine realistic return scenario, when the remnants