I am looking for several PhD students to investigate a range of planetary problems. Although I have ideas for specific investigations on both Mars and the Galilean satellites (see below), I am happy to consider other projects if someone has a particular interest. A reasonable grasp of mathematics and physics is important; otherwise, there are no real prerequisites (almost nobody does an undergrad in planetary science). Especially for non-US students, taking the GRE exam is important.
New Update (20 Dec 04): I will be moving to the University of California Santa Cruz as an assistant professor on 1st March 2005. This will make no difference to my research program outlined below (though the view out of the window will be much improved). Interested students should consult details on graduate admissions to UCSC here.
Mars Research (click here for more
information)
Although I intend to continue my studies of the Martian interior, I have also become interested in the near-surface of Mars, and am looking for PhD students to take this work forwards. For instance, the existence of near-surface ground ice is likely to cause modification to the local topography in ways which are both detectable and should allow us to infer some of the properties of this ice layer. Similarly, impact crater topography is likely to be modified in predictable ways.
Galilean Satellites (click here for more information)
There are a large number of projects that I am interested in pursuing, of which two are particularly suitable for graduate students. One is investigating the extent to which compositional convection, as opposed to thermal convection, may be responsible for surface features such as domes and bands. Compositional convection is a strong contender because it can generate larger stresses, and thus bigger topography, than thermal convection, but very little work has been done on it in the icy satellite context.
The other project is using newly-obtained topography to investigate surface processes on the icy satellites. For instance, by looking at how the topographic power varies with wavelength, we can assess the wavelength range over which processes such as erosion or mass-wasting are important, and thus infer the rate at which the surface is being modified. Nobody has yet tried this for the icy satellites, though similar efforts are underway on Mars.
Department of Earth and Space Sciences home page
Last Modified: 20 Dec 2004.