Who I Am

I am a research scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory -- the home of NASA's robotic missions to Mars. I have an M.S. and Ph. D. in geophysics from the University of Southern California and a B.S. in geology from the University of Miami.

I enrolled at the University of Miami because I thought I wanted to be an oceanographer. Since they did not have an undergraduate degree in oceanography, I majored in geology. I got the chance to spend three months on an oceanographic cruise in the Atlantic one summer, but liked geology better so I continued as a geology major and mostly gave up on oceanography. IÕve been on about a half-dozen cruises over the years, mostly helping out friends who are doing experiments.

I've long had an interest in space and that's what brought me into planetary geology. I remember sitting in front of the television watching with great interest and excitement the Apollo 11 landing on the Moon and following the entire space program - both manned and robotic.

Here at JPL, my research is focused on martian geology and terrestrial impact structures. I also have been very involved in planning for future Mars missions, both robotic and human.