Vitae
My curriculum vitae is displayed below, and a PDF Version is available for download.
EDUCATION
Brown University (2014 – 2020) Providence, RI, USA
Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences
PhD in Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences (2020)
– Dissertation: “Advancing Thermal Emission Spectroscopy for Asteroid Compositional and Thermophysical Analyses with Laboratory Experiments in a Simulated Asteroid Environment”
– Advisors: Dr. R. E. Milliken and Dr. J. F. MustardMSc in Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences (2016)
– Thesis: “The geological history of Northeast Syrtis Major, Mars”
– Advisor: Dr. J. F. Mustard
The University of Western Ontario (2014) London, ON, Canada
BSc with Distinction – Honors Specialization in Planetary Science
– Thesis: “Quantitative grain size determination by two-dimensional micro-X-ray diffraction and its application to the planetary sciences”
– Advisors: Dr. R. L. Flemming and Dr. P. J. A. McCausland
Memorial University of Newfoundland (2010) St. John’s, NL, Canada
BMus (Hons) – Theory and Composition
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Postdoctoral Scholar (2020 - Present)
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of TechnologyPostdoctoral Research Associate (2020)
Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences, Brown UniversityGraduate Student Research Assistant (2014 - 2020)
Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences, Brown University
RESEARCH EXPERIENCE
Graduate Research Assistant (August 2014 – January 2020)
Planetary Geosciences Group, Brown University, Providence, RI
– Using laboratory experiments to constrain how infrared emissivity spectra alter due to near-surface thermal gradients produced on airless bodies
– Analysis of remotely sensed spectral and optical data from Mars, including geomorphological mapping of Northeast Syrtis Major, Mars.
Undergraduate Student Research Award (May 2014 – August 2014)
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. Advisor: Dr. L. L. Tornabene
– Spectral analysis of Martian surface features using CRISM data.
Curatorial Assistant – Western Meteorite Collection (September 2013 – April 2014)
Advisor: Dr. P. J. A. McCausland
– Assisted in the curation of meteorites in the Western meteorite collection, Department of Earth Sciences. Analyzed enigmatic vein-coating material in the Tagish Lake meteorite using scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction.
Undergraduate Student Research Award (May 2013 – August 2013)
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. Advisor: Dr. P. J. A. McCausland
– Completed ~750 sample subdivisions of Tagish Lake meteorite material involving descriptions of physical characteristics and curating samples for storage. Lithological investigation of these sample divisions using magnetic susceptibility, helium pycnometry, and X-ray micro computed tomography scanning.
Research Assistant – X-Ray Diffraction Laboratory (September 2012 – April 2013)
Advisor: Dr. R. L. Flemming
– Operated the two X-ray diffractometers in aid of a variety of research projects. Analyzed and interpreted this data and wrote reports to summarize findings. In total, 37 client XRD datasets were collected, analysed, and interpreted.
Advanced Materials and Biomaterials Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Research Award (May 2012 – August 2012)
Centre for Advanced Materials and Biomaterials Research. Advisors: Dr. R. L. Flemming, & Dr. J. L. Hutter
– Designed and built a temperature-controlled sample stage for a micro-X-ray diffractometer. Used the cold stage to characterize High Arctic, temperature-sensitive samples (hydrated sodium sulphate) in situ by micro-XRD.
LABORATORY EXPERIENCE
Extensive experience in scientific laboratory equipment operation and maintenance, and data collection and analysis, including: thermal emission spectroscopy, reflectance spectroscopy, micro- and powder-XRD, Rietveld refinement, petrography, SEM–EDX, He pycnometry, magnetic susceptibility, and X-ray micro-CT scanning.
Extensive experience in operating environmental chambers at non-ambient temperatures
and pressures, handling of compress gasses and refrigerated liquids, and
working in a pressurized cleanroom environment.
Proficient at sample preparation, including: powdered samples, thin sections, meteorites,
whole rock samples, SEM pins, and coated samples; and handling temperature-
sensitive, time-sensitive, precious, and radioactive materials.
Laboratory instruments with formal training and experience:
– Analytical Spectral Devices FieldSpec 3 Field Spectroradiometer
– Nicolet Nexus 870 FT–IR Spectrometer
– Bruker D8 Discover micro-X-ray Diffractometer
– Bruker D2 PHASER X-ray Diffractometer
– Rigaku Geigerflex D/MAX X-ray Diffractometer
– Hitachi 3400-N Variable Pressure Scanning Electron Microscope
– Quantachrome Instruments Multipycnometer
– Sapphire Instruments SI2B Magnetic Susceptibility and Anisotropy Meter
COMPUTER EXPERIENCE
Proficient with Windows, Macintosh, and Linux-based operating systems and their native productivity software suites.
Proficient and highly experienced with ArcGIS, QGIS, ENVI, ISIS3, JMARS, MATLAB, GNU Octave, ImageJ, GIMP, InDesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator.
Languages: Bash/UNIX, MATLAB, IDL, python, LaTeX.
Highly experienced with NASA Planetary Data System data retrieval and image processing for major martian and terrestrial data sets.