Research

Research Areas

Water on Mars

Thermodynamics, evaporation and sublimation rates, regolith interactions, geochemistry, brines, biological implications, data analysis.

Astrobiology

Methanogens, microorganisms in the domain Archaea, models for life on Mars and Enceladus, sulfate-reducing bacteria.

Ices and Lakes on Titan

Evaporation rates of liquid methane and methane/ethane mixtures, particulate effects, tholins, freezing of hydrocarbons.

Atmosphere/Surface Interactions on Venus

Condensation of volatile atmospheric metallic compounds on planetary uplands.

Ices on Pluto

Infrared analysis and identification of candidate Pluto surface ices.

Planetary Geomorphology

Application of experimental and remote sensing methodologies to investigation of slope processes on Mars and Titan.

Galactic and Extragalactic Astronomy

Galaxy evolution, active galactic nuclei, effect of supermassive black holes on galaxy structure, spiral arm analysis, dwarf galaxies.

Extreme-temperature Electronics

Development of electronic components and systems capable of operating at extremely high and low temperatures, uncooled electronics for application to Venus surface landers.

Small Spacecraft Development and Operations

Cubesat propulsion and attitude control, formation flight, inflatables, communications, mission concepts. Remote sensing: Multi-sensor integration, GIS workflows, InSAR, digital image processing, geocomputation.

Meteorite and Impactite Analysis

Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer analysis of meteorite and impactite samples.