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Cosmochemistry
About
Planetary Materials are those pieces of condensed matter that were leftover from the time that our solar system formed over 4.5 billion years ago. Current emphasis is on determining the structure of materials at the atomic scale using transmission electron microscopy. In addition, we are pursuing instrumentation to analyze samples that will be brought back from asteroids and other Solar System bodies in the 2020s.
Planetary Materials Research Group
Planetary Materials are those pieces of condensed matter that were leftover from the time that our solar system formed over 4.5 billion years ago. Such materials include interplanetary dust particles, pre-solar grains, primitive meteorites and soils from the Moon and asteroids. The Planetary Materials Research Group studies the constituent minerals within such samples at scales ranging from micrometers down to the atomic. We use information on crystal structure and chemistry to understand the conditions under which such minerals formed.
Faculty
Cosmochemistry Faculty
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Jessica Barnes
Assistant Professor
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William Boynton
Professor Emeritus
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Pierre Haenecour
Assistant Professor
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Dante Lauretta
Director, Arizona Astrobiology Center, Principal Investigator, OSIRIS-REx, Regents Professor
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Vishnu Reddy
Professor
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Timothy Swindle
Professor Emeritus
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Tom Zega
Professor
Other Researchers
Cosmochemistry Researchers
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Maizey Benner
PTYS Graduate Student
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Jacob Bernal
DCC Postdoctoral Research Associate (Zega), NSF Postdoctoral Fellow
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Elias Bloch
Researcher/Scientist
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Laura Chaves
Postdoctoral Research Associate
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Samuel Crossley
Researcher/Scientist
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Kana Ishimaru
PTYS Graduate Student
Nicole Kerrison
PTYS Graduate Student
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Melissa Kontogiannis
PTYS Graduate Student
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Iunn Ong
PTYS Graduate Student
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Beau Prince
PTYS Graduate Student
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Lucas Smith
PTYS Graduate Student
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Nathalia Vega Santiago
PTYS Graduate Student
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Zoe Wilbur
PTYS Graduate Student
Support Staff
Cosmochemistry Support Staff
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Dolores Hill
Research Specialist, Senior