Education
Doctorate of Philosophy
University of California, Los Angeles
2015
Dissertation: "The Early Lunar Magmatic and Impact Histories Recorded in Apollo Zircons"
PhD Supervisor: Prof. Kevin McKeegan
Masters of Science
University of California, Los Angeles
2012
Masters Supervisor: Prof. Kevin McKeegan
Bachelors of Sciences
University of Maryland
2008
Undergraduate Research Advisor: Prof. Lucy McFadden
Research Experience
Assistant Professor
University of Colorado Boulder
August 2020 - PRESENT
Research Associate
University of Colorado Boulder
Independent research associate in the Department of Geological Sciences.
January 2017 - August 2020
Postdoctoral Research Staff Member
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
2015 - 2017
Postdoctoral researcher in the Noble Gas Laboratory. Research projects included Ar-Ar geochronology of Martian meteorites and Apollo samples, and nuclear forensics investigation of signatures from underground nuclear explosions.
Graduate Research Assistant
University of California, Los Angeles
2011 - 2015
Graduate research assistant in the Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS) Laboratory. Research projects included U-Pb geochronology, trace element, and microstructural analyses of lunar zircons, as well as, U-Xe geochronology of impact shocked zircons (Apollo and Vrederfort impact samples).
Research Assistant
University of Maryland
2009 - 2010
Undergraduate research assistant with Prof. Lucy McFadden. Research projects included photometry of planets with our solar system using NASA EPOXI mission as an analog of extrasolar systems, and using Hubble Space Telescope images to constrain the upper size limit on moons of asteroid Vesta.
Professional Service
NASA CAPTEM Lunar Sub Committee
2018 - Present
The NASA Curation and Analysis Planning Team for Extraterrestrial Materials (CAPTEM) Lunar Subcommittee is an advisory panel on matters regarding the collection and curation of samples collected during the Apollo missions.
Awards
CU UROP Mentor of the Year - Honoarable Mention
2018
The UROP Outstanding Mentor Award recognizes a CU Boulder faculty member for their role mentoring a current undergraduate working on research, scholarly and creative projects in any major. I received one of four honorable mentions for 2018.
LLNL Postdoctoral Poster Award
2017
Best poster presentation at annual Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory postdoctoral poster session.
Meteoritical Society McKay Award
2015
Award honoring Gordon A. McKay. The award is given each year to the student who gives the best oral presentation at the annual meeting of the society.
Meteoritical Society Wiley-Blackwell Award
2015
Sponsored by the publisher of Meteoritics and Planetary Science, four Wiley Awards are given each year for outstanding oral presentations by students at the Annual Meeting.
NASA Earth and Space Sciences Fellowship
2012 - 2015
Proposal Title: "U-Xe degassing ages of lunar zircons: a probe of lunar bombardment history."
Lunar and Planetary Institute
Career Development Award
2012
The LPI Career Development Award is given to graduate students who have submitted a first-author abstract for presentation at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC).
UCLA Departmental Excellence in Teaching Award
July 2006
Teaching Assistant for Solar System and Planets.
Current Funded Grants
Building a Global Record of Lunar Magmatism and Impact Processes: A Consortium Study of Apollo Regolith Apatite
NASA Solar System Workings (PI: Dr. Crow)
Apatite is a common accessory mineral in many Apollo basalt and regolith samples. In this project, we will employ an array of cutting-edge isotopic tools to more fully exploit the rich record that these apatites bear on the early magmatic and subsequent impact history of the Moon.
Investigating Noble Gas Adsorption Properties of Microporous Materials: Improving Systems for Detection of Underground Nuclear Explosions.
CU Boulder Seed Grant Program (PI: Dr. Crow)
For this project, we are constructing and implementing a new noble gas adsorption instrument as part of an interdisciplinary collaboration between faculty in geoscience, material science, and chemical engineering. We will then use this instrument to test microporous materials for use in sampling atmospheric noble gases for nuclear forensics applications.
A Multifaceted Approach to Investigating the Magmatic and Post-Magmatic History of Volatiles in Basalts from the Rim of Steno Crater.
NASA Apollo Next Generation Sample Analysis Program (PI: Dr. Jessica Barnes, University of Arizona)
CU's roll in this project is to constrain the chronology of four Apollo 17 basalts using a range of techniques including Ar-Ar thermochronology and accessory phase (e.g. apatite and zircon) geochronology.
Mission Participation
Great Lunar Expedition for Everyone (GLEE)
Chair of Science Advisory Board
GLEE is a mission concept being developed at CU Boulder as part of the Space Grant Consortium. GLEE is a mission to the surface of the Moon that will conduct science and test technology with hundreds of 5 gram LUNASATS built by students from around the world.