Amanda Stadermann is the recipient of the 2022 LPL Leif Andersson Award for Service and Outreach and the College of Science Excellence in Service Award for LPL.

Amanda is a Ph.D. candidate at LPL. Her thesis primarily focuses on rocks returned from the Apollo missions to the Moon in the 1960s and 70s. By studying these rocks with optical and electron microscopy techniques, she learns about the petrology and geochemistry of these rocks in effort to better understand their histories and formations, and gain insight into resolving remaining questions about the geologic history of the Moon.

Throughout her career as a graduate student, Amanda has been passionate about service to her fellow students, her professional colleagues, and the local community.

In her role as Graduate Representative to the Faculty, Amanda attends faculty meetings to represent student concerns and present data and other relevant information as needed. As Grad Rep, Amanda also welcomes prospective students with an orientation to LPL and the academic program, as well as the campus and life in Tucson.

Amanda has been active in her support of special programs and events like The Art of Planetary Science (2018-2020). She has been a regular volunteer for LPL outreach events such as Summer Science Saturday. In 2019, Amanda was invited to give a talk at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum, and also made presentations at UArizona Special Collections (Moon) as well as at Tucson's Coronado K-8 School (Parker Solar Probe: Exploring the Sun).

Amanda has served the wider planetary science community in peer review roles and as an executive secretary for NASA proposal review panels (ROSES). She is the communications chair for NextGen, a community group of early career researchers who have a passion and vision for lunar science and exploration. With NextGen, Amanda maintains and revises the community web site, distributes information and announcements, and coordinates in-person and virtual meet-ups. She also helped to organize a community panel discussion on ethical lunar exploration. Amanda has been invited to give several oral presentations on NextGen initiatives. Amanda's work with NextGen helps to create a better sense of community among early career lunar scientists, engineers, and explorers.

The Leif Andersson Service Award is a great honor for Amanda, who finds that service and community-building within her department, as well as the planetary science community, are key to being a successful scientist. Throughout her graduate career, she has advocated for and worked to promote early career scientists and engineers in the lunar community. She also has worked hard to create and foster a community among graduate students in her department, an effort that was particularly necessary during the COVID-19 pandemic. With this award, Amanda hopes that others will also recognize the importance of service and community-building in a scientific career, and also work to foster a caring and supportive environment for all who take part in planetary science.

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