Graduate Fellows
Eran Funaro
Graduate Student, Geology
I am a graduate student in Geology working with George Rossman and Paul Asimow to quantify and understand the radiative heat flow through earths rocky mantle. Recent observations suggest that the radiative heat flow through earth's mantle is not negligible as previously thought. We will test the sub-atomic mechanism (IVCT) previously thought to absorb the radiative heat flow by measuring IR absorbance of mantle building minerals at mantle temperatures and pressures. I am interested both in widening our understanding of sub-atomic chemistry and in scaling up these understandings to planetary scale to shed light on the anatomy and evolution of bodies across and beyond the Solar System.
Emily Geyman
Graduate Student, Geology
I am a graduate student in Geology working primarily with John Grotzinger. I am interested in using sedimentary records to reconstruct Earth's ancient environments. In particular, I am interested in how we can use the morphology of stromatolites preserved in the rock record to reconstruct the physical, chemical, and biological conditions at the ancient seafloor.
Abigail Keebler
Graduate Student, Planetary Science
I am a graduate student in Planetary Science working with Bethany Ehlmann and Ken Farley. I have broad interests in planetary surface processes and environmental evolution on terrestrial planets and rocky moons. Currently, I am using spectroscopy to constrain the mineralogy of dust source regions on Earth. I am also a member of the Mars 2020 science team.
Noam Lotem
Graduate Student, Geochemistry
I am a graduate student in Geochemistry, working with John Eiler and Woody Fischer. I am interested in the application of stable isotope methods as tools for discerning between biogenic and abiotic molecules, for determining the boundaries of life on Earth and searching for extraterrestrial life. Towards this goal, I am developing and applying novel ‘clumped' isotope methods to examine the composition of simple molecules that are products of microbial metabolism. Currently, I am developing a framework for measuring and interpreting the clumped isotope composition of microbially produced H2.
Zachariah Milby
Graduate Student, Planetary Science
I am a graduate student in Planetary Science with broad interests in planets and their atmospheres. I work with Katherine de Kleer analyzing Keck/HIRES observations of aurora on Ganymede and the other icy Galilean satellites. We compare the relative brightness of the auroras to models to gain insight into the tenuous oxygen atmospheres of these distant worlds.
Jessica (Jess) Mueller
Graduate Student, Geochemistry
I am a graduate student in Geochemistry working with Bethany Ehlmann, Francois Tissot, and Katherine de Kleer. I aim to increase our fundamental understanding the solar system's mineralogical evolution and isotopic variability through time by studying early solar system materials. My current work is focused on utilizing near and mid-infrared spectroscopy to characterize the nature and abundance of Calcium-Aluminum-rich inclusions (CAIs) in asteroids. Building this spectroscopic framework for CAIs will be useful when interpreting mid-infrared observations from the JWST.
Yu Yu Phua
Graduate Student, Planetary Science
I am a graduate student in Planetary Science working with Bethany Ehlmann and Katherine de Kleer. My current works focus on understanding the materials that make up planetary bodies, through the use of laboratory analog measurements, in-situ rover data, and thermal modelling of global surface properties. I am interested in how these different methodologies that give information at different spatial scales can complement each other to better constrain the composition of planetary surface materials.
Morgan Saidel
Graduate Student, Planetary Science
I am a graduate student in Planetary Science working with Mike Brown and Heather Knutson. My research interests are primarily in studying the formation and evolution of planetary systems. With Mike Brown, I study the formation and evolution of the outer Solar System by probing the surfaces of Trojan asteroids. With Heather Knutson, I observe atmospheric loss on exoplanets in order to understand how exoplanetary systems evolve. When I'm not doing research, I enjoy backpacking, gardening, and surfing.
Jiani Yang
Graduate Student, Environmental Science & Engineering
I'm a graduate student in Environmental Science and Engineering working with Professors Yuk Yung and John Seinfeld. I am interested in studying planetary atmosphere to understand planets within and beyond the solar system to answer important questions such as "Where did we come from?" and "Are we alone?". Towards this goal, I am working on DSCOVR data to derive vegetation signal in light curves of the sunlit disk of the Earth to evaluate the habitability of exoplanets.
Ryleigh Davis
Graduate Student, Planetary Science
I am a graduate student in Planetary Science working with Mike Brown. My research aims to combine spectroscopy from ground and space-based telescopes with laboratory experiments and spectra to identify the presence of specific salt species and disentangle their origin and potentially complex history and role within the surface chemistry of icy satellites. In particular, I am interested in probing the surface composition of Jupiter's icy moon Europa, which we hope to use as a window towards understanding the chemistry of its subsurface, salty ocean.
Julie Inglis
Graduate Student, Planetary Science
I am a graduate student in Planetary Sciences primarily working with Heather Knutson. My goal is to understand the formation and evolutionary pathways of giant planets on extreme orbits by using spectroscopy to characterize their atmospheres. My work involves a variety of techniques using both ground-based telescopes like Keck and space-based telescopes such as HST and JWST to probe the molecular abundances and structure of these atmospheres, which we can then compare with predictions from formation and evolutionary models.
Hemani Kalucha
Graduate Student, Geobiology
I am a graduate student in Geobiology working with Mike Brown, and co-advised by Woody Fischer. I am interested in life detection on the surface of Europa and how we can determine the origin and age of organic signatures on the surface with spectroscopy. Towards this goal, I create bacteria ice mixtures maintained at Europa surface pressure and temperature and irradiate them to understand how bacteria are chemically changed by radiation in an ice matrix using Raman and infrared spectroscopy.
Christina (Tina) Seeger
Graduate Student, Geology
I am a graduate student in Geology working with John Grotzinger to understand the history of water on Mars--particularly the movement of groundwater during and after surface water flow--using data from the Curiosity rover as it investigates the geology of Gale crater. I'm interested in understanding links between surface processes on Earth, Mars, and bodies across the Solar System.
Noah Tashbook
Graduate Student, Geobiology
I am a graduate student in Geobiology studying astrobiology and paleontology with Professors John Eiler and Joe Kirschvink, looking at the co-evolution of life and Earth environments through deep time, with a particular focus on biomineralization and post-depositional metasedimentary processes. We use stable isotope geochemistry and paleomagnetic tools to constrain and reconstruct the early Earth and protoplanetary disk of both our solar system and exoplanetary systems. Our research utilizes a wide range of samples, from bacterial microfossils to asteroidal dust grains to biotissues from extant organisms. I am also interested in how the biosphere affects global biogeochemical cycles.
Jerry Xuan
Graduate Student, Astronomy
I am a graduate student in Astronomy working with Dimitri Mawet, and co-advised by Heather Knutson. I am interested in understanding how giant planets form and evolve, and how they shape and influence their natal planetary systems. Towards this goal, I've been studying giant planet and brown dwarf atmospheres using high-resolution spectroscopy from Keck and measuring their dynamical masses and 3-D orbits using astrometry, radial velocity, and imaging data.