Morgan Cryder is a rising senior majoring in Geosciences with a minor in Math as well as Planetary Sciences. Morgan chose Planetary Sciences because she is just as curious about the other planets in our solar system as she is about the Earth. Morgan says, "I find it really interesting that I can apply what I learned in my geoscience studies or classes to other bodies in our solar system." Morgan has enjoyed all of her PTYS courses but says that the Mars course taught by Regents Professor Alfred McEwen was most memorable. The class was able to request HiRISE images and at the end of the course and each student presented on different Mars topics. Morgan felt that through this course she was able to really understand more about the red planet.

Morgan is currently researching Martian wrinkles with Associate Professor Jeff Andrew-Hanna. They have been analyzing the variability of these ridges and creating different codes to get better data on the characteristics of these ridges. In March, she presented this research at the 53rd Lunar and Planetary Science Conference.

Morgan is still undecided on the direction she wants to take her education and career. This summer she is participating in a petroleum camp and is looking forward to applying those new skills to her research. She hopes that she can incorporate both earth science and space science into her future career.