Mars Through Time

Presented at the Lunar and Planetary Institute

Presenter Bios

Dr. Dave Brain

Dr. Dave Brain
University of Colorado Boulder
[email protected]

Dave Brain is an assistant professor in the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics and the Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences at the University of Colorado. As a planetary scientist, he studies the interaction of unmagnetized planets such as Mars and Venus with their space environment. This topic is exciting to him because charged particles and magnetic fields from the Sun are believed to have fundamentally altered these bodies over the past 4+ billion years. By studying processes that occur there today we hope to unravel how these planets evolved, and why their atmospheres are so different from our own. He is a Co-Investigator for the MAVEN mission currently at Mars, and for the Emirates Mars Mission, Hope, currently in development. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Colorado, and spent 8 years at the University of California Berkeley before returning to CU.


Dr. Nathan Bridges

Dr. Nathan Bridges
Johns Hopkins University
[email protected]

Nathan Bridges is a Senior Staff Scientist at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. A co-investigator on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Mars Science Laboratory (ChemCam), and Mars 2020 missions, he specializes in the study of surface processes in the Solar System, in particular those from the wind (“aeolian”). His major role with ChemCam is in the planning, processing, and analysis of image data from the Remote Micro Imager and in the analysis of LIBS data. Nathan received his Ph.D. in Geology from the University of Massachusetts in 1997.


Paige Valderamma Graff

Paige Valderamma Graff
NASA Johnson Space Center
[email protected]

Paige Valderrama Graff was born and raised in Staten Island, New York. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Education from Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana; a Master’s Degree in Multicultural/Bilingual Education from Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona; and a Masters of Education in Earth Sciences from Penn State University, World Campus. Paige was a middle school teacher for 11 years in Nogales, Arizona, on the border of Arizona and Mexico. Since 2001 she has been involved with creating NASA Education Programs and opportunities that bring authentic science experiences to the classroom. Currently, she is the lead for NASA’s Expedition Earth and Beyond (EEAB) Program, facilitated at the NASA Johnson Space Center within the Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science (ARES) Directorate.


Dr. Walter S. Kiefer

Dr. Walter S. Kiefer
Lunar and Planetary Institute
[email protected]

Walter S. Kiefer has a Ph.D. in Planetary Science and Geophysics from the California Institute of Technology. He is currently a Staff Scientist at the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston, TX, where he has worked for more than 20 years. His research combines computer modeling of flow inside planets, observations of gravity and topography, and studies of moon rocks and meteorites from Mars. The overall goal of these studies is to understand volcanic structures and the thermal evolution of Mars, the Moon, and Venus. He is a member of the science team for NASA’s GRAIL mission, which is exploring the internal structure of the Moon. He is also helping to develop a high temperature seismometer for possible future use on Venus.


Dr. David Kring

Dr. David Kring
Lunar and Planetary Institute
[email protected]

Dr. Kring received his Ph.D. in earth and planetary sciences from Harvard University. He specializes in impact cratering processes produced when asteroids and comets collide with planetary surfaces. Kring is perhaps best known for his work with the discovery of the Chicxulub impact crater, which he linked to the K-T boundary mass extinction of dinosaurs and over half of the plants and animals that existed on Earth 65 million years ago. He has trained astronauts how to work with planetary surfaces affected by impact cratering and volcanic processes. He has also developed mission concepts for human-assisted lunar sample return missions, human exploration of the lunar surface, and helped lead simulations of lunar and near-Earth asteroid missions in analogue terrains here on Earth. Dr. Kring is actively engaged in communicating scientific issues to the public through a variety of print, radio, and television forums including the Discovery Channel, Learning Channel, History Channel, and PBS.


Elizabeth (Liz) Rampe

Dr. Elizabeth (Liz) Rampe
NASA Johnson Space Center
[email protected]

Liz is a planetary geologist and postdoctoral researcher at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. She studies chemical weathering on Earth and Mars and is particularly interested in the minerals and mineraloids that precipitate from water-rock interactions. Liz is a member of the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) science team and the Chemistry and Mineralogy (CheMin) instrument team. She is also involved in planetary analog missions and was a member of the Desert Research and Technology Studies (RATS) science team in 2010 and 2011 and a crew member in 2012. Liz received a BA in geology from Colgate University in 2005 and a Ph.D. in geological sciences from Arizona State University in 2011.


Dr. Kevin Righter

Dr. Kevin Righter
NASA Johnson Space Center
[email protected]

Kevin is the NASA curator for Antarctic meteorites and oversee the meteorite collection at Johnson Space Center. He received his Ph.D. in 1994 from the University of California – Berkeley. His research interests include the application of experimental petrology and geochemical analysis to understanding both terrestrial and planetary materials. Kevin’s planetary research has focused on core formation, the origin of the Earth and Moon, studies of both differentiated and chondritic meteorites, the role of volatiles in the origin of basaltic magmatism, and the distribution of highly siderophile elements in natural materials. His terrestrial research has involved both field and experimental studies of basaltic volcanism in continental arcs, especially western Mexico.


Andy Shaner

Andy Shaner
Lunar and Planetary Institute
[email protected]

Andy is an Education Specialist with the Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI) in Houston, TX. He is the education and public outreach (E/PO) lead for the LPI – JSC NASA SSERVI team and the E/PO lead for the ChemCam instrument onboard the Curiosity rover. Andy actively assists colleagues in the planning and implementation of professional development trainings for formal and informal educators. He also plans and implements programming for the general public. Andy received a B.A. in Secondary Education with teaching licensures in physics and earth & space science from Wichita State University and an M.A. in Teaching and Teacher Education with a minor in planetary science from the University of Arizona.


Christine Shupla

Christine Shupla
Lunar and Planetary Institute
[email protected]

Christine Shupla supervises day-to-day operations for the Education department at the Lunar and Planetary Institute, and coordinates LPI’s formal education efforts. She is the principal investigator for the Sustainable Trainer Engagement Program (STEP), and leads a number of teacher professional development programs. Ms. Shupla’s bachelor’s degree is in Astronomy, and she has a master’s in Curriculum and Instruction. Prior to her work at LPI, Ms. Shupla spent approximately 15 years in the planetarium field, managing the planetarium and creating and presenting planetarium shows to approximately a million people.


Amy Williams

Amy Williams
University of California – Davis
[email protected]

The natural world is a source of great inspiration to Amy. After earning a B.S. in geology from Furman University, she pursued her M.S. at the University of New Mexico, where she explored the salinization of the Rio Grande river. Through her M.S., she became interested in geobiology - the study of interactions between microbial life and the environment – and she jumped at the opportunity to both study geobiology and work with the Mars Curiosity rover mission at UC Davis. She has recently completed her Ph.D., studying the physical evidence of microbial life left behind in rocks. When she’s not researching or working with the Curiosity rover, Amy spends her time teaching and mentoring undergraduates.


The 2015 workshop was supported by the ChemCam instrument onboard the Curiosity rover and the Lunar and Planetary Institute.

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