Welcome to our Fall 2021 newsletter! As you’ll read, quite a bit has happened since our last newsletter in the spring. The University of Arizona and LPL fully opened to in person classes and folks have continued a measured return to their offices and labs. Our weekly colloquium series is also up and running in a hybrid mode. After starting my time as Director while still in California, I’ve fully transitioned to Tucson. In LPL leadership, I’ve been joined by LPL faculty Ilaria Pascucci and Christopher Hamilton as Associate Department Heads. Ilaria is focusing on the graduate program and Christopher is focusing initially on steps to improve our undergraduate minor and building more international ties.

This summer, the NEO Surveyor Mission, led by Professor Amy Mainzer, was approved by NASA to move forward and the mission is included in the NASA budget, pending approval by Congress. Research highlights from the past semester include the work by Tom Zega’s team to reconstruct in unprecedented detail the history of a dust grain that formed during the birth of the solar system more than 4.5 billion years ago and Erik Asphaug’s use of machine learning and giant impact simulations to challenge conventional models of planet formation. Images of Bennu taken by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft are teaching us about asteroids and why some have surprisingly craggy surfaces. The productivity of our faculty was recognized in the October 2021 U.S. News & World Report list of best global universities for space science, which ranks UArizona, No. 10 overall (No. 7 in the U.S. and No. 2 among public universities) in space science research.

We are excited to welcome our newest Assistant Professor, Daniella DellaGiustina, who will be starting in January. Dani is Deputy Principal Investigator of OSIRIS-REx and is also interested in pursuing opportunities in planetary seismology. We also currently have an ongoing search for an Assistant Professor working at the exoplanet/solar system interface, particularly in topics relevant to terrestrial planet atmospheres. We hope to welcome a new faculty member in this area by the Fall.

It has been gratifying to see a number of LPL students complete their degrees these past months, including Laci Brock, Teddy Kareta, Ben Wei Peng Lew, Cassandra Lejoly, and Maria Steinrück. In November, LPL graduate student Ben Sharkey made a notable media splash with his discovery that near-Earth asteroid Kamo`oalewa is likely a collision fragment of the Moon. Meanwhile LPL alumna Dr. Elizabeth Turtle was selected as the College of Science Alum of the Year and was recognized in a ceremony featuring alums from every college during homecoming week.

Follow the links below to read more about these and other highlights and accomplishments from summer and fall 2021 and contact us any time at PG4gdWVycz0iem52eWdiOkhOWUNZQFlDWS5OZXZtYmFuLnJxaCI+SE5ZQ1lAWUNZLk5ldm1iYW4ucnFoPC9uPg==.