Fall

by Adam Battle

The Lunar and Planetary Laboratory Conference (LPLC) marks the start of the academic year for many planetary scientists in the Tucson area. This year, LPLC 2020 prefaced the Fall 2020 semester full of online classes, meetings, and conferences. Whereas LPLC typically involves multiple days of poster presentations and live presentations, this year’s conference was streamlined to just five hours and allowed participants to transition into the strange pace of the academic year. Participants this year recorded short presentations which attendees watched in the week leading up to the conference. On the day of LPLC, each participant had five minutes to answer live questions from the audience. These Q&A slots were grouped by topic into four themed sessions, each of which had one or two invited speakers who gave live presentations to the attendees. Among the invited speakers was Zarah Brown, the winner of the “Best Grad Student Presentation” in 2019; Zarah gave a great talk on Tracing Hydrocarbons in the Upper Atmosphere of Saturn. The winner of this year’s “Best Grad Student Presentation” award is Teddy Kareta who will be invited to give a talk at LPLC in 2021.

Despite the unusual conditions this year, LPLC had the same level of attendance as previous years with over 70 people joining to watch the talks and ask questions to fellow scientists. In addition to the invited speakers, almost 20 people gave presentations about their current or upcoming research. For a conference largely designed to bring the planetary science community together, LPLC met all of its goals despite the difficulties presented in 2020. The conference concluded with a bittersweet keynote from Tim Swindle about his decade of experiences as director of LPL, including all the lessons learned while leading such a unique and wonderful department.

LPL Department Head and Director Tim Swindle gave the keynote talk at LPLC 2020.

Saverio Cambioni, Kyle Pearson, and Jess Vriesema defended dissertations via Zoom.

Saverio defended his dissertation, On the Application of Machine Learning to Planetary Sciences, on September 10. Professor Erik Asphaug served as his advisor. Saverio begins a position as postdoctoral research associate at Caltech in January.

On June 2, Kyle defended The Detection and Characterization of Transiting Exoplanets. His advisor was Professor Caitlin Griffith. Kyle is currently a Data Scientist at JPL.

Jess Vriesema defended on October 12. His dissertation is titled Modelling Electrodynamics in Saturn's Upper Atmosphere. Jess was advised by Professor Roger Yelle.

Congratulations to this year's recipients of Future Investigators in NASA Earth and Space Science Technology (FINESST) awards:

Zoe Wilbur

Investigating Degassing Histories of Apollo 15 and 17 Lunar Basalts with 3D Visualization and Coordinated Microanalysis (advisor: Jess Barnes)

Third-year graduate student Emileigh Shoemaker was named a John Mather Nobel Scholar for 2020. Scholars receive a $3000 scientific travel grant over a two-year period, in support of costs for presenting research papers at professional conferences. The program is open to current undergraduate and graduate student summer interns at NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center. The awards are given by The John and Jane Mather Foundation for Science and the Arts in partnership with the National Space Grant Foundation. Emileigh's advisor is Associate Professor Lynn Carter.

Joana Voigt has won an Amelia Earhart Fellowship. The $10,000 fellowship is awarded each year by Zonta International to up to 35 women pursuing doctoral degrees in aerospace engineering and space sciences. The fellowship was established in 1938 in honor of Amelia Earhart, famed pilot and member of the Zonta Clubs of Boston and New York. The fellowship biography for Joana is available from Zonta International. Joana is a fourth-year student working with Associate Professor Christopher Hamilton.

Associate Professor Christopher Hamilton is the recipient of a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award to Iceland for Planetary Analog Research in Iceland: Investigations of the 1783–1784 Laki and 2014–2015 Holuhraun Lava Flow-Fields.  Dr. Hamilton will work with colleagues at the University of Iceland to document the products of Icelandic flood lava eruptions as well as their impacts on the environment, including astrobiologically relevant lava-water interactions. This project includes three major objectives: geomorphological mapping of the Holuhraun lava flow-field to relate observed surface textures to eyewitness accounts of the eruption; determination of sources for endospore-forming microbial organisms identified within Holuhraun’s lava-induced hot springs; and examination of newly exposed deposits at the northern end of the Laki cone row, where a previously undocumented subglacial fissure segment is now exposed due to ice retreat.

As a Fulbright Scholar, Dr. Hamilton will share knowledge and foster meaningful connections across communities in the United States and Iceland. Fulbrighters engage in cutting-edge research and expand their professional networks, often continuing research collaborations started abroad and laying the groundwork for forging future partnerships between institutions. Upon returning to their home countries, institutions, labs, and classrooms, they share their stories and often become active supporters of international exchange, inviting foreign scholars to campus and encouraging colleagues and students to go abroad. As Fulbright Scholar alumni, their careers are enriched by joining a network of thousands of esteemed scholars, many of whom are leaders in their fields. Alumni include 60 Nobel Prize laureates, 86 Pulitzer Prize recipients, and 37 who have served as a head of state or government.

The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to forge lasting connections between the people of the United States and the people of other countries, counter misunderstandings, and help people and nations work together toward common goals. Since its establishment in 1946, the Fulbright Program has enabled more than 390,000 dedicated and accomplished students, scholars, artists, teachers, and professionals of all backgrounds to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas, and find solutions to shared international concerns. The Fulbright Program is funded through an annual appropriation made by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations, and foundations around the world also provide direct and indirect support to the Program, which operates in more than 160 countries worldwide.