Meet the TEam

The GeoSPACE project is a collaborative project that brings together a team with expertise in planetary science, field geology, geoscience education, accessibility and technology. It is supported by NSF (Grant # 2023124).

Project Team

Anita smiles at the camera in a scrubby desert landscape, wearing a blue hat and field shirt and sunglasses on her head.

Anita Marshall 

Anita Marshall (She/her) is a Lecturer and researcher at the University of Florida, Gainesville. 

My primary research area is Geoscience Education, specifically academic and social engagement in field courses, how to form belonging and community in educational spaces, and the barriers to participation for people with disabilities in science disciplines. My secondary research area is volcanology, where I utilizes near-surface geophysics to examine tephra deposits and sub-surface features of small-volume volcanic eruptions. I'm passionate about geo-ethics and culturally respectful and sustainable field work.  I have a physical disability and chronic fatigue, and I am so excited to get out in the field (in person or remote) with our GeoSPACE students and show them the volcanoes I fell in love with as a student, and how anyone can do field work if provided the proper tools and support. Here's my website to learn more about me.

Jen wears a brimmed field hat and smiles from her wheelchair in front of Meteor Crater.

Jen Piatek

Jen Piatek (She/her) is a professor of planetary geology and chair of the Geological Sciences department at Central Connecticut State University.

My research interests involve remote sensing of planetary surfaces, particularly in infrared wavelengths: our most recent project utilizes data in thermal infrared wavelengths to examine the morphology of impact crater deposits on Mars. I also has projects investigating how we might improve classroom activities in the geosciences using technologies such as 3D printing and panoramic imaging. I've been a wheelchair user for over a decade, and  been working to adapt to geology on wheels (rather than hiking boots).  I learned how to "do" geology at some of our project field sites, and I'm looking forward to exploring them again with our project students. 

Amy Williams

Amy Williams (she/her) is an Assistant Professor and NASA researcher at the University of Florida, Gainesville. 

My primary research area is astrobiology/ geobiology where I explore how life is preserved in the rock record as a biosignature, and how we can detect those biosignatures both in ancient Earth rocks and on Mars. I work with the NASA Curiosity and Perseverance rover missions to search for the building blocks for life beyond Earth. The American West is where I truly fell in love with geology and I am excited to share that beauty and deep geologic history with our GeoSPACE students. 

Steve Elardo

Steve Elardo (he/him) is an Assistant Professor and NASA Early Career Fellow at the University of Florida.

I am the PI of The Florida Planets Lab where I use a variety of techniques, including high-pressure and -temperature experiments, studies of planetary samples, and non-traditional stable isotope geochemistry to learn about how planets separate into a core, mantle, and crust, and how  differentiation affects the magmatic evolution of planets. Much of my research utilizes the only samples ever collected by a human field campaign on another planetary body, so I’m very interested in how to get the most out of field work when most scientists can’t actually go to a field site.

Dave Williams

David A. Williams (he/him) is a Research Professor in the School of Earth and Space Exploration at Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona. 

I'm the Director of the Ronald Greeley Center for Planetary Studies, a NASA-funded planetary data center at ASU, and also the Director of the NASA Planetary Aeolian Laboratory, which administers wind tunnels the Ames Research Center in California. I'm currently performing research in volcanology and planetary geology, with a focus on planetary mapping, geochemical, and remote sensing studies. My current research focuses on planetary geologic mapping of bodies across the Solar System, and computer modeling of the physical and geochemical evolution of lava flows in a variety of planetary environments. I was involved with NASA’s Magellan Mission to Venus, Galileo Mission to Jupiter, Dawn Mission to asteroid Vesta and dwarf planet Ceres, and ESA’s Mars Express orbiter mission.  I'm a member of the Janus camera team for the ESA JUICE mission, and the Deputy Imager Lead and a Co-Investigator on NASA’s Psyche Mission.  In 2014 I was elected a Fellow of the Geological Society of America, and asteroid 10,461 DAWILLIAMS was named after me.

Yesenia, in sunhat, smiles in front of the red rocks of Arches National Park

Program Manager : Yesenia Arroyo

Yesenia Arroyo (they/she) has a background in technical training, science education and outreach. 

I've spent the past year with GeoSPACE as a post-baccalaureate scholar supported by NSF's GeoREPS program conducting research in geoscience education and physical volcanology. Now I am a communications post-bac at NASA Goddard with the Habitable Worlds program. As GeoSPACE project manager, I help facilitate learning activities, coordinate logistics, communication and tech, and work with students to make the course inclusive and accessible for everyone.

Collaborators

Digital painting of Lis Gallant in front of a volcano wearing a hard hat and a scarf made our of lava.

Lis Gallant

Lis Gallant (she/ella) is an assistant professor and volcanologist at the University of Hawai'i Hilo. During GeoSPACE, she teaches field volcanology and coordinates meals.

Sean sits in his power chair wearing a brown fleece in front of a rock slab covered with dinosaur footprints.

Sean Thatcher

Sean Thatcher (he/him) a lecturer and GIS analyst at City University of New York Staten Island. He alternates between in-person and virtual faculty roles for GeoSPACE.

Trevor Collins

Trevor Collins (He/him) is Senior Research Fellow in Technology-Enhanced Learning at The Open University (UK) who manages the communication technology for GeoSPACE.

McKayla Meier

McKayla Meier (She/Her) is a PhD student at the University of Florida studying planetary volcanism and geochemistry and the TA for GeoSPACE virtual students.