Assistant Professor, Lunar and Planetary Laboratory | Member of the Graduate Faculty | Assistant Professor, Planetary Sciences
My main research focus is on understanding the origin and evolution of volatiles in the inner Solar System. I utilize a combination of nano and microanalytical techniques in the Kuiper Imaging Facility to study mineralogy, geochemistry, and petrological histories of a wide range of extraterrestrial materials. My grouis currently engaged in a project under the umbrella of Apollo Next-Generation Sample Analysis ANGSA) The release of sample 71036 presents a unique opportunity to study volatiles in a basalt that has been frozen and specially preserved since its return and to compare those results with basalts of similar bulk chemistries that have been stored at room temperature. This exceptional suite of basalts also offers a chance to unravel the history of volatile loss on the Moon, from the onset of mineral crystallization through vesicle formation, sampling, and subsequent curation. We are conducting a detailed study of the major, minor, and volatile element chemistry including H isotopes) of H-bearing minerals and melt inclusions in four Apollo 17 basalts, and to determine the U-Pb and Ar ages of the basalts. Other ongoing projects include investigating the petrology of igneous lunar samples, coordinated microanalysis of meteorites to investigate the evolution of water in the Martian crust, and studies aimed at assessing the inventories and origins of volatiles on primitive chondritic and achondritic asteroids. Members of the Planetary Materials Grouare also getting ready for the analysis of samples on their way to Earth from asteroid Bennu by the OSIRIS-REx space mission.