Kelsi Singer

Last updated
Kelsi N. Singer
KelsiSinger092315-1.jpg
Singer in 2016
Alma mater Washington University in St. Louis, University of Colorado at Boulder
Known forImpact cratering, icy geophysics
Awards Harold C. Urey Prize
Scientific career
Fields planetary science, geophysics, geomorphology, solar system astronomy
Institutions Southwest Research Institute
Thesis Icy Satellite Tectonic, Geodynamic and Mass Wasting Surface Features: Constraints on Interior Processes and Evolution  (2013)
Doctoral advisor William McKinnon
Other academic advisorsPaul Schenk

Brad Jolliff Slava Solomatov Briann Hynek Steve Mojzsis Fran Bagenal

Alan Stern

Contents

Website https://sites.google.com/site/kelsisinger/

Kelsi N. Singer [1] (born 1984) is an American planetary scientist who is a principal research scientist at the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) [2] in Boulder, CO. She is Deputy Principal Investigator of NASA's New Horizons [3] mission studying the geomorphology and geophysics of the Pluto system and of Arrokoth (2014 MU69).

Education

Singer received a Bachelor's degree in Astronomy and Anthropology from the University of Colorado Boulder. While there, she decided to pursue research in the fields of astrobiology and planetary science. [4] She studied abroad at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, during her undergrad, where she worked at the Australian Centre for Astrobiology studying clouds in Venus' atmosphere (with Dr. Jeremy Bailey), tidal sediments on Earth (with Dr. Malcom Walter), and also continued with her interest in archaeoastronomy. Upon returning to Boulder, she worked with Steve Mojzsis on her honors thesis project about using sediments called cyclic rhythmites to trace the length of a day over millions of years, and a research project on "blueberries" (hematite spherules) and thermal inertia on Mars. [5]

Singer received a Ph.D. in Earth and Planetary Science from Washington University in St. Louis in 2013 working with Dr. Bill McKinnon and Dr. Slava Solomatov; her dissertation was titled Icy Satellite Tectonic, Geodynamic, and Mass Wasting Surface Features: Constraints on Interior Processes and Evolution. [6]

Research

Singer continued as a postdoctoral researcher at Washington University with the Dr. Brad Jolliff and the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera team after receiving her Ph.D. In 2014, she joined the New Horizons team at SwRI as a postdoctoral researcher, where she studied the geophysics of Kuiper Belt Objects, particularly cratering physics. [7] At SwRI, she is currently a principal research scientist and Deputy Principal Investigator for the New Horizons Extended Mission.

In 2019, Singer and her team demonstrated from images of craters taken by New Horizons' Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LoRRI) that small Kuiper Belt Objects (less than one mile in diameter) are rare. [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] The results place constraints on formation and evolution models of the Solar System, suggesting that objects in the Kuiper Belt formed from rapidly collapsing dust clouds rather than incremental collisions of larger debris. [10]

Singer has coordinated and contributed to the 'Women in Planetary Science' blog site since 2009. [13]

Dr. Singer has worked on many planetary bodies throughout the solar system, [14] but primarily: Mercury, the Earth's Moon, Mars, the icy moons of Jupiter, Saturn, and Neptune, Pluto, and other small bodies such as Kuiper belt objects and asteroids.

Her areas of expertise include: [1]

Awards and honors

Singer received the American Astronomical Society (AAS) Division of Planetary Science (DPS) Harold C. Urey Prize in 2019, [15] which recognizes outstanding achievements in planetary science by early career researchers. Asteroid 10698 Singer was named in her honor. [16] The naming was published by the Minor Planet Center on 13 April 2017 ( M.P.C.103977). [17] Singer also received the Geological Society of America (GSA) Stephen E Dwornik Award for Best Graduate Poster Presentation in 2010, [18] and the GSA Greeley award for Distinguished Service to Planetary Science. [19]

References

  1. 1 2 "Kelsi Singer's Personal Website".
  2. "Our Office - SwRI Boulder".
  3. "New Horizons Mission Team List".
  4. Gardner-Vandy, Kat (2011-05-09). "Kelsi Singer: do research as an undergraduate, and embrace the rewards of grad school". Women in Planetary Science: Female Scientists on Careers, Research, Space Science, and Work/Life Balance. Retrieved 2020-11-12.
  5. "Ground truth from the Opportunity Rover for Mars thermal inertia data".
  6. Singer, Kelsi Nab (May 2013). Icy Satellite Tectonic, Geodynamic and Mass Wasting Surface Features: Constraints on Interior Processes and Evolution (PhD dissertation). Washington University in St. Louis. doi:10.7936/K7BG2M1T.
  7. Courier, Left Hand Valley. "Niwot's Kelsi Singer is a planetary star". Left Hand Valley Courier. Retrieved 2020-11-12.
  8. Singer, K. N.; McKinnon, W. B.; Gladman, B.; Greenstreet, S.; Bierhaus, E. B.; Stern, S. A.; Parker, A. H.; Robbins, S. J.; Schenk, P. M.; Grundy, W. M.; Bray, V. J. (2019-03-01). "Impact craters on Pluto and Charon indicate a deficit of small Kuiper belt objects". Science. 363 (6430): 955–959. arXiv: 1902.10795 . Bibcode:2019Sci...363..955S. doi: 10.1126/science.aap8628 . ISSN   0036-8075. PMID   30819958.
  9. "New Horizons data indicates small Kuiper Belt Objects are rare". SpaceFlight Insider. 2019-03-03. Retrieved 2020-11-12.
  10. 1 2 "Battle Scars on Pluto and Charon Reveal the Solar System's Origins". www.pbs.org. 28 February 2019. Retrieved 2020-11-12.
  11. "Crater counts on Pluto, Charon show small Kuiper Belt objects surprisingly rare". ScienceDaily. Retrieved 2020-11-12.
  12. "Pluto and Charon Don't Have Enough Small Craters". Universe Today. 2019-03-09. Retrieved 2020-11-12.
  13. "Kelsi Singer". Women in Planetary Science: Female Scientists on Careers, Research, Space Science, and Work/Life Balance. Archived from the original on April 7, 2015. Retrieved 2020-11-12.
  14. "Astrophysical Data Systems database entries for papers including K. N. Singer as an author".
  15. "2019 Prize Recipients | Division for Planetary Sciences". dps.aas.org. Retrieved 2020-11-12.
  16. "(10698) Singer = 1981 EJ43 = 1988 DM5 = 1993 RT20". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 2020-11-12.
  17. "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". www.minorplanetcenter.net. Retrieved 2020-11-12.
  18. "GSA Dwornik Award Recipients".
  19. "GSA Greeley Award Recipients".