Spring

Madison is a fourth-year Ph.D. student in Geosciences, completing a graduate minor in Planetary Sciences. She is advised by 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 was recently selected for the Philanthropic Educational Organization (PEO) Scholar Award. P.E.O. Scholars have demonstrated their ability to make significant contributions in their chosen field of study. Madison was selected as one of this years recipients out of nearly a thousand nominees throughout the US and Canada.

The Kuiper-Arizona Laboratory for Astromaterials Analysis awards the Hitachi Scholarship in Electron Microscopy annually to two graduate students generating cutting-edge research and publications in the area of electron microscopy. The scholarship was established by Hitachi High-Technologies as part of their partnership with the University of Arizona.

Beau Prince

LPL graduate student Beau Prince uses transmission electron microscopy to study nanoscale, fluid-filled inclusions in samples from asteroid Bennu and other materials from the outer solar system. These inclusions can provide insights into the nature of water-rock interactions on now-destroyed planets that existed early on in solar-system history."

Jeremy Philbrick

Transmission electron microscopy helps Jeremy Philbrick, a graduate student in the Physics department, directly visualize crystal structures to help find the microscopic origins of material properties.

Kayla Smith was awarded the Mensch Prize for her research on the temporal evolution of brown dwarf habitable zones. Alongside this technical work, she has co-authored a philosophical paper on epistemic pluralism and astrobiology and holds an Arizona Astrobiology Center seed grant to develop astrobiology curriculum for incarcerated youth. Her breadth of contribution across science, philosophy, and outreach exemplifies the spirit of the Mensch Prize. Kayla is a second-year Ph.D. student advised by Professor Mark Marley.

The Mensch Prize in Astrobiology, hosted by the Arizona Astrobiology Center at the University of Arizona, is a scholarship recognizing undergraduate and graduate students whose research or creative projects advance our understanding of life in the universe. Two $1,000 prizes are awarded annually, one at each level, to students who demonstrate creativity, interdisciplinary thinking, and academic excellence across the broad landscape of astrobiology. Nominations are evaluated on the originality and academic merit of the work, its relevance to astrobiology, and its potential to push the boundaries of how we think about life in the cosmos.

Dolores Hill first came to work at the University of Arizona in 1981 for Laurel Wilkening and Bill Boynton who collaborated on a studies of chondrule and CAI rims. Dolores trained students and visiting researchers in NAA techniques and worked alongside them to ensure their success. She was privileged to cross paths with LPL founders, esteemed faculty, and numerous dedicated staff and graduate students in many fields.

Dolores worked on special projects including newly recovered meteorite falls, analysis of ALHA 81005, the first lunar meteorite discovered, and Calcalong Creek, the first lunar meteorite found outside of Antarctica, Allende chondrules and REE in rims of CAIs with David Wark (of Wark-Lovering fame), David Kring’s documentation of the Gold Basin (AZ) strewnfield, and a serendipitous project with Andrea Patzer on the unique Itqiy achondrite.

Dolores assisted the Mars Observer and Mars Odyssey GRS teams with gamma-ray standards for their instruments and logistics, and examined prototype TEGA ovens for the Mars Phoenix mission.

Along the way, Dolores enjoyed interacting with the public and providing teachable moments even when a rock turned out not to be a meteorite. These experiences enabled her to translate planetary science information, design hands-on activities, and create special displays for public, most notably the Arizona Meteorite Exhibition in 2010 and (Apollo 14) Moon Tree Celebration in 2015 with Maria Schuchardt. She wrote a successful proposal for the new Artemis I Moon Tree planted in 2024. She enjoyed working with Pierre Haenecour, Jessica Barnes, and students on the 2-week Arizona Space Rock Camp in the summer of 2025.

A highlight of Dolores’ time at LPL was working with the OSIRIS-REx mission from its beginning in 2011. She co-coordinated the award-winning Target Asteroids! citizen science program (now Target NEOs!) and lead the OSIRIS-REx Ambassadors. Dolores was a member of the Sample Analysis Team working closely with Jessica Barnes, Pierre Haenecour, Dante Lauretta, and their students on the Bennu sample.

In retirement, Dolores plans to spend time with her family and continue her involvement with Target NEOs!, outreach activities, and a few meteorite projects.

Dante Lauretta is invited to speak as the 2026 J. Robert Oppenheimer Memorial Lecture Speaker by the J. Robert Oppenheimer Memorial Committee. Dante will share the scientific journey of the OSIRIS-REx mission and the ongoing analysis of samples from asteroid Bennu.

The nonprofit committee has worked to honor the intellectual and ethical legacy of the Director of the Manhattan Project.

The 2026 Lecar Prize was endowed by a generous gift from the estate of Myron S. Lecar to encourage and recognize exceptional contributions to the study of extrasolar planets, in particular and theoretical astrophysics in general. Dr. Marley received an honorarium and delivered a lecture at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in April.

Dr. Mihailo Martinović joined the LPL faculty in March as an Associate Research Professor. Mihailo received his Ph.D. in Astronomy and Astrophysics in co-mentorship between the Laboratory for Instrumentation and Research in Astrophysics at the Paris Observatory and the Faculty of Mathematics, University of Belgrade on the topic of “Quasi-Thermal Noise Spectroscopy in Space Plasmas.” He has been a Research Scientist at LPL since 2018. Mihailo studies and develops instruments to characterize electrons in space plasmas. He has developed new methods for electric field measurement that are moving towards commercialization with application to both heliophysics and national security.

Ali Bramson, Tad Komacek, Catherine Neish, Mark Marley

The Division for Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society recently announced their yearly awards. Four LPL alumni were among the 2026 recipients. The Harold C. Urey Prize, which recognizes early-career outstanding achievements in planetary research was awarded to Dr. Ali Bramson (2018, advisor Shane Byrne) and Dr. Tad Komacek (2018, advisor Adam Showman). Dr. Catherine Neish (2008, advisor Jonathan Lunine) was recognized with the Claudia J. Alexander Prize, which acknowledges significant mid-career contributions to planetary knowledge. Dr. Mark Marley received the Gerard P. Kuiper Prize honoring his outstanding contributions to the field of planetary science. Visit AAS Division for Planetary Sciences Announces 2026 Prize Winners for more information on these awardees and their outstanding accomplishments.

Karl Harshman passed away on January 28, 2026 following a long-fought battle with cancer.

Karl served as our Science & Processing Operations Center (SPOC) Manager for OSIRIS-APEX. His SPOC leadership began on OSIRIS-REx, where he stepped into the role a year before launch, at a time when the science ground system was struggling. Karl turned the ship around. Through steady leadership, deep technical expertise, and a collaborative spirit, he helped guide us smoothly through Bennu proximity operations and the sampling campaign. He managed both science uplink and downlink operations and earned the deep respect and affection of the entire team. He was key in retaining our core expertise from OREx to APEX.

Karl joined LPL in 1998 as a software engineer on the Mars Odyssey Gamma Ray Spectrometer and went on to contribute to an extraordinary list of missions, including Phoenix, LRO, MSL, OSIRIS-REx (both OCAMS and SPOC), and OSIRIS-APEX. In his final years, he was also instrumental in developing a Mission Operations Center for the Pandora mission, continuing to build capability right up to the end.

On a personal note, my very first task on OSIRIS-REx involved working closely with Karl to identify which OCAMS telemetry streams should be archived as scientifically relevant housekeeping data. I doubt Karl imagined then that I would one day be leading this spacecraft into a new mission, but he met me with patience and respect while I was early in my career.

Karl was a force. He cared deeply about the missions, the work, and—most importantly—the people. His absence will be felt across this project and well beyond it.

Dani Mendoza DellaGiustina, Associate Professor

Professor Emeritus Uwe Fink passed away on 18 January 2026 after a brief illness. Fink was born in Germany in 1939, spending his early childhood under difficult circumstances during the Third Reich. At the end of World War II, his family found themselves in Göppingen in the American Zone of Occupation. From there, they emigrated to Canada, where Fink attended high school, and later they moved to Portland, Maine in the USA. Fink graduated with a BS in Engineering Physics from the University of Maine in 1961. He was then admitted to graduate studies at Pennsylvania State University, where he earned an MS in Physics in 1963 and a PhD in Physics in 1965, completing a dissertation on “The quadrupole spectrum of molecular hydrogen" under the supervision of Professor David H. Rank, a distinguished physicist who pioneered modern infrared spectroscopy and was a leader in adapting lasers for spectroscopic techniques and in optical instrument design.

Fink's initial postdoctoral position was back in Europe, performing balloon-borne atmospheric measurements for the recently-established Institute for Atmospheric Science (Brussels, Belgium) at the remote location of Aire-sur-l’Adour, France. After concluding this postdoc, Fink returned to the USA seeking another position, applying to companies such as Bell Laboratories and Corning. Learning from his good friend and former fellow Penn State physics graduate student William Bickel that there was an opening in the Physics Department at the University of Arizona in the beam-foil spectroscopy laboratory of Professor Stanley Bashkin, Fink applied and was accepted, beginning employment at UA in 1967. At the time, the seven-year-old LPL under the directorship of Gerard Kuiper was in the process of moving into its new building, leaving the small area it had shared with Physics in the PAS building. Recognizing Fink's talents and their applicability to his research on planetary atmospheres, Kuiper invited Fink to join LPL in 1968. From that date until his death 58 years later, Fink was a stalwart member of LPL. He was a founding member of LPL's academic arm, the Department of Planetary Sciences (chartered in 1972).

During his long career, Fink carried out laboratory spectroscopy and observations on all of the planets in the solar system and their satellites as well as asteroids and comets. During this golden age of planetary exploration, he developed and built instruments for laboratory use and telescopic observations using the technique of Fourier spectroscopy and later CCD spectroscopy. The laboratory work identified the opacity spectra of molecules that could then be searched for spectroscopically. He was the first to employ CCD’s for planetary spectroscopy, enabling him to obtain the first good visible and near IR spectrum of Pluto. Highlights include the discovery of the icy composition of Saturn’s rings, measurements of ices on the Galilean satellites, and an early measurement of water vapor in the atmosphere of Venus from airborne spectra. A major advance was the first detection (in collaboration with Harold Larson) of water vapor in the atmosphere of Jupiter, particularly relevant today in the context of measurements of the atmospheric compositions of extrasolar giant planets. Also important was their first detection of the disequilibrium species GeH4 (germane, the germanium analog of methane) and PH3 (phosphine) in the atmosphere of Jupiter. His spectra of Jupiter and molecular detections are still oft cited in the modern brown dwarf and extrasolar giant planet literature.

For 1993-1994, Fink was awarded a Humboldt Prize to work at the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) in Berlin.

During the period 1985-2005, Fink carried out extensive observations of comets, their chemical composition, production rates and taxonomy, resulting in a summary paper of the spectroscopic taxonomy of 92 comets. For more than 10 years after his official retirement, Fink was a Co-Investigator on the ESA-NASA Rosetta mission to comet 67P.

Fink’s contributions to science (with over 110 published papers) and the life of LPL will be long remembered.

- Bill Hubbard and Mark Marley

LPL Memorial page for Uwe Fink

Subscribe to Spring