About me
Painting workshop at Sundance during Division for Planetary Sciences #49, Provo Utah. Photo Credit: Rick Fienberg
|
I am a planetary scientist at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, TX. I study asteroids, the moons of Jupiter, and Saturn's rings, mostly at ultraviolet (UV) wavelengths of light. Studying planetary bodies in the UV tells us about the composition of the uppermost layers of their surface or atmosphere. Because the Earth's atmosphere blocks most of the UV light, the majority of my research is done using observations from spaced-based telescopes, like the Hubble Space Telescope and with NASA missions like Europa Clipper, New Horizons, Juice, and Cassini.
I am a one of the Deputy Principal Investigators for the Ultraviolet Spectrograph (Europa-UVS) on the Europa Clipper spacecraft that will launch in the Fall of 2024 to study the habitability of Jupiter's icy moon, Europa. I am the Deputy Principal Investigator for the Alice UV spectrograph on the New Horizons mission, currently exploring the Kuiper Belt. I also work on the European Space Agency's Juice mission. As a graduate student, I worked with the Cassini Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph (UVIS) team, studying Saturn's rings. You can see more about my research here. |
Sharing Science
|
One of the greatest things about the vastness of the universe is how unifying it is: I have encountered people of all ages, from across the globe and with different backgrounds, who all share the same innate curiosity and excitement about space. Often just mentioning what I study can trigger an incredibly engaging and fun discussion about what exists out beyond our own planet. I love capturing and sharing that energy whenever and wherever I can: it is one of the best parts of my job as a scientist.
As a result, I try to speak with kids and adults about our Solar System as often as possible, from hosting monthly Astronomy on Tap events to virtual conversations with classrooms across the globe. |
Photo at Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) in 2021.
|
My first scientific presentation as a graduate student at a Planetary Rings meeting at Cornell in August, 2011.
|
Education
|
|
I have a B.S. degree in astrophysics from Lehigh University and a Ph.D. in Physics - Planetary Sciences Track from the University of Central Florida. In 2007 I spent one semester abroad studying at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso in Chile.
|
