Department News

Chad Cantin

Chad is an Aerospace Engineering major with minors in Planetary Sciences and Astrobiology. Chad chose Planetary Sciences as a minor because of his long-abiding and profound interest in space. He credits enrollment in PTYS 206: Exploring our Solar System with sparking an interest in pursuing further study of the field. Chad’s favorite Planetary Sciences class has been PTYS 407: Chemistry of the Solar System taught by Dr. Dante Lauretta, principal investigator for the OSIRIS-REx mission. Chad reports the class was an incredible experience given the opportunity to learn first-hand about the OSIRIS-REx mission and its importance to the study of asteroid composition.

Chad plans to graduate in Spring 2025 with a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering; he will then pursue a Master's degree in Systems Engineering. His goal is to work as an aerospace/space systems engineer with NASA. Chad is getting a head start on his career goals this summer, when he will be working as an aeromechanics intern at NASA Ames Research Center.

Chad spent the past academic year as an Arizona/NASA Space Grant working with Professor Shane Byrne to digitize and archive lunar images from the NASA Surveyor Program. Chad also works with Dr. Jekan Thanga (Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering) in SpaceTREx Laboratories’ NASA-funded projects relating to robotic space systems engineering for lunar base applications. More specifically, his work involves designing lunar robots using computer-aided drafting and 3D printing.

When he is not doing homework or working in the lab, Chad enjoys painting and spending time outdoors. He also pursues an interest in astrophotography, using his telescope to capture observable objects in the night sky.

Staff, faculty, and students from LPL are always delighted to share highlights of their research throughout the year with hands-on experiences and exhibits. This spring semester was an active one, with outreach opportunities at large, world-renown events like the Tucson Gem & Mineral Show and the Tucson Festival of Books (TFoB), as well as at smaller, local venues. Below is a sampling of what we were up to for spring 2024.

We start the semester re-cap with the LPL Gem Show booth, another great success this year thanks to the efforts of volunteers like graduate students Nathalia Vega Santiago, Christina Singh, Melissa Kontogiannis, Gabe Gowman, and Orion Hon, as well as undergraduate PTYS minor Reed Spurling, and longtime volunteer Hector Swidzinski. Over four full days, the LPL booth featured two sample glove boxes for guests to try their hand at moving precious particles using real lab tools. And we we had a lot of fun with the ever-popular meteorites-meteorwrongs test tray.

At TFoB, LPL volunteers including Denise Blum, Joe Schools, Ruby Fulford, Orion Hon, Gabe Gowman, and others participated in Science City’s Tent of Tomorrow. In addition to working in the sample glove boxes, visitors attempted to land a 3D printed OSIRIS-REx Sample Return Capsule on a map of the Utah Test and Training Range. And visitors appreciated seeing pictures of the returned Bennu sample.

LPL Assistant Professor Pierre Haenecour had an especially busy season of public talks about OSIRIS-REx and the Bennu sample. He gave a much anticipated and well received presentation about the OSIRIS-REx Bennu sample to the International Meteorite Collectors Association for their annual Gem Show gathering. Pierre also spoke to students at Tucson’s Mansfeld Magnet Middle School, sharing meteorite samples and describing the sample science related to OSIRIS-REx.

A bit farther afield, Dr. Haenecour gave two special talks about OSIRIS-REx and the Bennu sample for the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences (Raleigh) Astronomy Days event.

LPL’s active outreach to local schools included visits to classrooms, participation in STEM/STEAM festivals, star parties, and on-site tours for students visiting the Kuiper Space Sciences building. Topics included activities and exhibits about the solar eclipse, comet making, creating clay planets, and building safe egg-landing parachutes. Tours of the Kuiper-Arizona Astromaterials Laboratory for Astromaterials Analysis to learn about advanced materials analysis were popular.

Orion Hon at Tucson Gem Show

LPL Volunteer at Gem Show

Spring 2024 semester highlights also include:

Operations Specialist Tracie Beuden represented the Catalina Sky Survey at the Paiute Neighborhood Center Sci-Tech Family Festival in Scottsdale.
Dolores Hill gave a "meet me under the Moon Tree" talk for the Saddlebrook Hiking Club.
Zoë Wilbur and Maizey Benner spoke to community groups about meteorites, always a popular topic, and grad student Sam Myers is looking forward to a summer talk for the Prescott Astronomy Club.
Carson Fuls and Dolores Hill gave presentations for the Stars Over Sabino Canyon event hosted by the Mount Lemmon SkyCenter and the U.S. Forest Service. The event was a combination of daytime solar viewing, presentations, and an evening star party. Presentations were well attended despite the rain!
In celebration of this year’s solar eclipse, first-year graduate student Nicole Kerrison gave a special presentation about the Sun at Flandrau Science Center.
Assistant Professor Jessica Barnes spoke on science careers at the Women in Physics event at Biosphere2.

We look forward to seeing you soon!

Imani Ralph

Imani is majoring in Biochemistry with minors in Astrobiology and Statistics and Data Science. She discovered the astrobiology option as a first-year student and was immediately eager to explore the opportunities the program offered in support of her research interests in planetary habitability.

Given Imani’s interests, it’s not surprising that her favorite minor course was MCB 437: Life in Extreme Environments, which was focused on extremophiles and the various conditions they can inhabit. Taught by Dr. Solange Duhamel (MCB), the class provided Imani with the opportunity to complete a project on a polyextremophile known as Deinococcus radiodurans. Known for surviving in multiple extreme environments such as those with intense infrared radiation, the bacterium provides insight into Mars’ ability to sustain life.

Imani plans to attend medical school and pursue a career as a physician in a field related to pediatrics. As part of her pre-med program, she is supplementing her course work with practical experience. Currently, Imani is working in Dr. M. Leandro Heien’s analytical chemistry laboratory to develop chronic electrodes for in vivo dopamine detection in mice under different stimuli. These types of studies can provide insight into certain conditions related to dopamine levels (e.g., Parkinson’s disease).

When her schedule permits some free time, Imani enjoys spending time catching up with friends and her favorite Netflix programs.

The Astrobiology undergraduate minor program is administered by LPL.

So far for 2024, LPL's Space Imagery Center has conducted three workshops that train planetary scientists in how to create topography from planetary images. Workshop attendees have spanned all career stages from undergraduates to senior scientists. These workshops introduce the fundamental principles of stereophotogrammetry and structure-from-motion techniques. Thanks to investment from the Technology and Research Initiative Fund (TRIF), the Space Imagery Center possesses specialized hardware to see and edit these products in three dimensions.

These workshops were made possible by funding from NASA’s Topical Workshops, Symposia, and Conferences program. As part of this proposal, organizers collaborate with colleagues at Arizona State University, the U.S. Geological Survey, and Cornell University in offering no-cost training in a wide range of topics related to Planetary Science data. We hope to continue offering these to the community next year – a follow-up proposal is currently under consideration at NASA.

Professor Shane Byrne is director of the Space Imagery Center and Research Scientist Dr. Michael Phillips is the Center’s manager.

By Jack Holt, PTYS 590 instructor, Spring 2024

In spite of a very windy first day and rain on the second, PTYS 590 had a successful trip to Death Valley and its vicinity. We visited and discussed a multitude of planetary-relevant sites including dunes, playas, alluvial fans, volcanics, a phreatomagmatic crater, paleo-shorelines, ventifacts, Snowball Earth glacial deposits, stromatolites, hot springs, and more. There was still a giant shallow lake at Badwater Basin, which was quite a sight. UArizona Regents Professor Victor Baker provided great insights at many stops and LPL Research Scientist Dr. Joe Schools supported the trip.

Perhaps the most amazing, unprecedented outcome is that we had zero flat tires on the road to Racetrack Playa!

Support the LPL Graduate Field Trip by donating to the Wilkening-Sill endowment.

Susan Robison is the recipient of the LPL Staff Excellence Award for 2024 in the category of Administrative Staff. Sue was recognized for her outstanding work in supporting a multitude of projects to achieve their highest potential. Her nominators described the diversity of her responsibilities as enormous and her performance in meeting them as exceptional.

Sue has been a Senior Business Manager at LPL since 2012, starting her career with project support for the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) project. She currently manages finances for several spacecraft mission instrument teams at LPL, each with unique funding mechanisms and reporting requirements. Sue creates complex proposal budgets, manages complicated subcontracts, and interfaces with business managers of several external institutions - all while doing the “routine” work of preparing required forms and reimbursements, overseeing travel reports and equipment purchases, and seeking out required approvals and submitting required reports.

In addition to mission support, Sue plays a key role in proposal budget preparation for programs ranging from graduate-student support programs (e.g., NASA FINESST) to medium-sized data analysis proposals, to large-scale mission proposals.

Sue recently took on the role of building manager for LPL’s Sonett Building; this job grew in complexity with the moves and renovations that came with the installation of the Arizona Astrobiology Center and the anticipated arrival of the APEX mission. Sue obtained required renovation quotes, oversaw the reorganization of staff offices, and cataloged and surplussed unused equipment. All these changes involved not only a great deal of planning and logistical effort, but also the ability to work with an entirely new set of building occupants. Sue has handled all these transitions and duties with great competence, regularly going above-and-beyond to keep projects large and small, planned and unplanned, moving forward.

Sue is an incredible asset to LPL and to the missions projects and researchers she supports.

Tyler Meng
April 22, 2024

Geophysical Measurement and Monitoring of Planetary Rock Glacier Surface Process

Advisor: Professor Jack Holt

New position: Postdoctoral Research Associate, Washington University, St. Louis

Theodore Broeren

(Applied Mathematics)

PTYS Graduate Minor
April 3, 2024

Multi-Spacecraft Observatory Data Analysis Techniques: Uncertainty Quantification & Comparison

Advisor: Associate Professor Kristopher Klein

New position: Raytheon (data science technologies)

UNDERGRADUATE MINORS

Photo of Shae Henley Shae is majoring in Aerospace Engineering with a minor in Astrobiology and expects to graduate in 2024. She is interested in the study of the origin of life and research into potential life beyond Earth. Shae knew the astrobiology minor courses would allow her to gain a strong background in astrobiology and has enjoyed being able to supplement her engineering classes with courses focusing more on the biological sciences, chemistry, and geosciences, among other areas of study.

Her favorite astrobiology class has been the Coevolution of Earth and the Biosphere (GEOS 484). Shae began the course with very little knowledge about Earth's history and the field of geosciences, but through lectures, papers, and class trips, she feels that she has received a comprehensive review of the subject matter. Course outings to local mountains and plains to see fossils and historical sites were incredibly valuable and helped spark her interest in geology and the history of the Earth.

Shae plans to attend graduate school, either at UArizona to earn an M.S. in aerospace engineering or another program to conduct graduate research in bioastronautics (the support of life in space). She wants to research human-system interactions and the intersection of aerospace engineering and human health. She sees herself designing spacecraft technologies that enhance human life in space, or working on deep space missions that further our knowledge of our planet and surrounding universe.

As part of her research with Dr. Christopher Walker (Department of Astronomy/Steward Observatory), Shae serves as the Project Manager/Flight Director for the CatSat CSLI (CubeSat Launch Initiative) Mission and oversees the astrodynamics, communications, commanding, and payload teams. The team is currently preparing for the spacecraft’s upcoming launch. Shae helped to design the Artemis Infrared Explorer for Space Studies (ARIES), a proposed lunar surface instrument designed to conduct infrared astronomy from the lunar south pole, and LunaCat, a proposed lunar orbiter that aims to study and map the distribution of molecular water in the lunar regolith. In recognition of her accomplishments, the Universities Space Research Association honored her with the 2023 Thomas R. McGetchin Memorial Scholarship Award. Shae is a former Arizona NASA Space Grant intern.

Here on Earth, Shae enjoys hiking and running and has started rock climbing (bouldering).

Travis Matlock is pursuing an Astronomy major with minors in Planetary Sciences and Physics. Travis chose to minor in PTYS because he has always been fascinated with the objects in our solar system. The PTYS undergraduate courses aligned with his interests and he believes the PTYS minor provides him with a well-rounded, interdisciplinary education. Travis really enjoyed the Asteroids, Comets, and Kuiper Belt Objects (PTYS 416) course with Dr. Dani DellaGiustina. He remembers the assignments imitating real work that a planetary scientist might do. For example, students used a 3D computer model of Eros to count craters and then determine the surface age from the crater size-frequency distribution. The class also spent a night at Catalina Sky Survey and participated in observing activities.

In addition to minor coursework, Travis also has an Arizona NASA Space Grant internship with LPL Research Professor, Dr. Lon Hood, working primarily on modeling the crustal magnetic anomalies on Mars. The models are constructed to reflect data from the magnetometer aboard the Mars MAVEN spacecraft. In addition to these projects, Travis also works as a student software developer with the USA National Phenology Network in the School of Natural Resources and the Environment.

Travis is currently applying for doctoral graduate programs in planetary science (or similar programs). His research interests include planetary surfaces and atmospheric processes and hopes to gain more expertise with geological data.

In his spare time, Travis likes spending time outdoors and exploring the areas around Tucson. He describes himself as “bit of a coffee hobbyist” and also enjoys small craft projects.

Zarah Brown Solar System Former LPL student Zarah Brown defended her dissertation in November, but not before completing the Arizona Scale Model Solar System, a project she undertook as an Arizona NASA Space Grant Graduate Fellow and had imagined completing since childhood. Zarah led the installation of 11 plaques depicting various objects of the solar system true to scale. Designed to show the relative sizes and distances of solar system objects at a 1:5 billion scale, the outreach project aims to make space science accessible to people of all ages and backgrounds and to highlight UArizona's accomplishments exploring the solar system. Artwork for the plaques was designed by LPL alumnus James Keane.

Dedicated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on September 8, the stations comprising the Arizona Scale Model Solar System are spaced out across two-thirds of a mile of campus between the Kuiper Space Sciences Building and the intersection of East University Boulevard and North Euclid Avenue.

A project website, accessible by QR codes at each stop, will provide information via screen readers for the visually impaired, as well as additional details as new scientific discoveries are made.

The project is the result of collaborative efforts made possible by the support of the NASA Space Grant program and an anonymous benefactor.

Read more about Zarah and the Arizona Scale Model Solar System project.

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