FINESST solicits proposals for graduate student-designed and performed research projects that contribute to NASA's Science Mission Directorate’s science, technology, and exploration goals.
Naman Bajaj
Decoding the Evolution of Protostellar Outflows with JWST MIRI
Advisor: Ilaria Pascucci
Devin Hoover
Cassini/UVIS observations of Titan's variable atmosphere
Advisor: Tommi Koskinen
The purpose of the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) is to ensure the quality, vitality, and diversity of the scientific and engineering workforce of the United States. GRFP recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students who have demonstrated the potential to be high achieving scientists and engineers, early in their careers.
Earth as an Exoplanet for the Era of Exo-Earths
Advisor: Tyler Robinson
Maizey’s paper entitled Microstructural analysis of phosphorus (P)-bearing assemblages in type 3 chondrites: Implications for P condensation and processing in the early solar nebula is one of the two papers selected for this award.
Her paper addresses the chemical behavior of phosphorous in chondritic meteorites and in samples returned by the Hayabusa2 mission. She has been using a combination of electron- and ion-beam techniques in the Kuiper-Arizona Laboratory for Astromaterials Analysis (K-ALFAA) to study P-bearing materials in petrologic type-1 through type-3 carbonaceous and ordinary chondrites, and thermodynamic modeling and density functional theory to better understand the materials formation conditions.
Advisor: Tom Zega
The fellowship is awarded annually to up to 30 women in doctoral programs in aerospace engineering and space sciences.
Anna’s research examines how hydrogen and helium escape from hot Jupiter-sized exoplanets under intense stellar radiation, using hydrodynamic simulations, stellar flux models, and spectroscopic observations to explore planetary evolution and star–planet interaction.
Advisor: Tommi Koskinen
The Planetary Science Institute has selected University of Arizona graduate student Namya Baijal as one of two recipients of the 2025 of the 2025 Pierazzo International Student Travel Award.
PSI established the award in memory of Senior Scientist Betty Pierazzo to support and encourage graduate students to build international collaborations and relationships in planetary science. Each awardee will receive a certificate and check for $2,000 at their respective conferences.
Baijal will attend the Europlanet Science Congress – Division of Planetary Sciences Joint Meeting 2025 to be held in Helsinki, Finland from Sept. 7-12 where she will present her research titled “Three-dimensional Modelling of the Major Impact Craters on (16) Psyche.” Through her research, she works to understand how collisions have shaped the surface of asteroid (16) Psyche, a unique metal-rich asteroid in the main belt and the target of NASA’s Psyche Mission, set to arrive in 2029. Through impact modeling, she and her colleagues aim to help answer the mission’s central question: “Is Psyche the leftover core of a differentiated planetesimal, and if so, how did it form?”
Pierazzo, after whom the prize is named, was an expert in the area of impact modeling throughout the solar system, as well as an expert on the astrobiological and environmental effects of impacts on Earth and Mars. In addition to her research, she was passionate about education, teaching and public outreach, developing planetary-related classroom materials, professional development workshops for teachers, and teaching college-level classes herself. Betty believed in the strength of broad collaborations in all of her research and education activities.
This award memorializes the scope of how she lived her life and the good she sought to bring to our profession and communities.
The UA/NASA Space Grant Program, in collaboration with the UA Graduate College and the nominating department, funds six graduate fellowships per year to exceptional graduate students interested in promoting the understanding of space-related research to the public. Applicants are asked to propose a 1-2 year project focused on educational outreach, knowledge transfer, technology transfer, science for society, and/or the promotion of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) to those traditionally underrepresented in STEM. In keeping with National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program goals, Space Grant Fellows develop projects that promote the understanding of space-related research to the public through original research and outreach efforts. Awards include a stipend, tuition and registration fee waivers, student health insurance, and a travel grant to attend professional conferences.
Madison is a third-year Ph.D. student in Geosciences, completing a graduate minor in Planetary Sciences. She is advised by Associate Professor Christopher Hamilton. Madison is interested in the active eruptions in Fagradalsfjall, Iceland, and how these eruptions can be used for hazard mitigation and planetary analogs.
Madison recently won four awards from the Dept. of Geosciences:
Nathan Hadland has been named an ARCS Scholar for the 2025-2026 academic year. The ARCS (Achievement Rewards for College Scientists) Foundation advances science and technology in the United States by providing financial awards to academically outstanding students who are U.S. citizens studying to complete degrees in science, engineering, math, technology, and medical research. Scholars receive a cash stipend, full tuition, and a travel grant.
Nathan’s research focuses on microbial life in volcanic environments as an analog for life on Mars. He is a fifth-year graduate student advised by Associate Professor Solange Duhamel (MCB) and Associate Professor Christopher Hamilton.
The Curson Education Plus Fund in Planetary Sciences and LPL was established by Shirley Curson, a generous donor and friend of LPL, for the purpose of supporting travel expenses outside the state of Arizona during summer break. The award is open to students in the Department of Planetary Sciences and Lunar and Planetary Laboratory who propose to fund study, museum visits, special exhibits, seminars, instruction, competitions, research and other endeavors that are beyond those provided by the normal campus environment and are not part of the student’s regular curriculum during the recipient’s school year.
To donate to the Curson Travel fund, visit the University of Arizona Foundation.
Advisor: Ilaria Pascucci
ESO RAVEYSO Conference, Garching, Germany
Presenting: The role of accretion and ejection variability in the evolution of young stars and their disks.
Read about Naman's presentation at ESO RAVEYSO
Advisor: Tom Zega
Canadian Center for Electron Microscopy Summer School, Hamilton, Ontario
Attending practical training and lectures in data processing and operation of telescopes.
Read about Maizey's experience at the CCEM Summer School
Lori Huseby
Advisor: Mark Marley
ExoSLAM Summer School and Exoclimes VII conference, Montreal, Quebec
Presenting research on exoplanet hazes
Read about Lori's travel for ExoSlam Summer School and Exoclimes VII conference
Congratulations to LPL's 2025 Galileo Circle Scholarship recipients: Roberto Aguilar, Arin Avsar, Naman Bajaj, Orion Hon, Devin Hoover, Lori Huseby, Beau Prince, Anna Taylor, and Chengyan Xie.
Galileo Circle Scholarships are awarded to the University of Arizona's finest science students and represent the tremendous breadth of research interests in the University of Arizona College of Science. The scholarships are supported through the generous donations of Galileo Circle members. Galileo Circle Scholars receive $1,000 and the opportunity to introduce themselves and their research to the Galileo Circle patrons.
Roberto Aguilar
Advisor: Jack Holt
Studying the interior of Martian mid-latitude glaciers with data from the SHARAD sounder and leading the development of a state-of-the-art drone-based ground penetrating radar to retrieve shallow subsurface structures in Mars-analog glaciers.
Arin Avsar
Advisor: Daniel Apai
Seeking to understand catastrophic collisions between planetesimals, which is the main dynamical process that governs the evolution of debris disks and developing a model that evolves the remnants of planetesimal collisions to determine the ideal disk orientation, stellar type, and observatory to detect such collisions.
Naman Bajaj
Advisor: Ilaria Pascucci
Using the James Webb Space Telescope to study the disks of dust and gas around distant stars where planets are just starting to form.
Orion Hon
Advisor: Lynn Carter
Investigating volcanic environments on Earth that are analogous to lunar volcanic terrains using geophysical instruments that can be employed by future robotic or human explorers on the Moon. These techniques allow exploration of the lunar subsurface, which is key to revealing volcanic landforms and resources that have been buried by billions of years of geologic evolution.
Devin Hoover
Advisor: Tommi Koskinen
Pursuing a comprehensive investigation of the atmosphere of Saturn's moon, Titan, using an unexplored dataset from the Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph instrument that flew on the Cassini spacecraft. This work is the first step towards combining data from multiple Cassini instruments to create a detailed, global view of Titan's atmosphere.
Lori Huseby
Advisor: Mark Marley
Conducting laboratory studies in exoplanet haze chemistry to better understand how laboratory work can shape and constrain current modeling efforts and future telescopic observations of exoplanets.
Beau Prince
Advisor: Tom Zega
Using transmission electron microscopy to study the mineralogy of OSIRIS-REx sample returns at the nanometer scale to learn about the interior of asteroid Bennu's parent body.
Anna Taylor
Advisor: Tommi Koskinen
Studying the evolution of exoplanetary atmospheres and their interactions with their host stars, with a research focus on atmospheric escape, a crucial process that shapes planetary atmospheres over time, influencing their composition, structure, and potential habitability. The integration of theoretical hydrodynamic models with observational data aims to refine our understanding of how escaping atmospheres are detected through spectral features.
Chengyan Xie
Advisor: Ilaria Pascucci
Using the James Webb Space Telescope to investigate the chemical composition of the inner regions of protoplanetary disks where habitable zones are situated and mining older data sets to characterize the chemical compositions of aging disks, compare them with younger samples, and map evolutionary trends. This work will ultimately advance our understanding of how planetary systems emerge over time.
