Biography:Kelsi Singer
Kelsi N. Singer | |
|---|---|
| Alma mater | Washington University in St. Louis, University of Colorado at Boulder |
| Awards | AAS Division of Planetary Science 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 |
| Website | https://sites.google.com/site/kelsisinger/ |
Kelsi N. Singer (born 1984) is an American planetary scientist who is a senior research scientist at the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) in Boulder, CO. She is a co-investigator and deputy project scientist of NASA's New Horizons 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.[1] She studied abroad at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, during her undergrad, where she worked at the Australian Centre for Astrobiology. Upon returning to Boulder, she worked with Steve Mojzsis on her honors thesis project about using cyclic rhythmites to trace the length of a day over millions of years. She received a Ph.D. in Earth and Planetary Science from Washington University in St. Louis in 2013; her dissertation was titled Icy Satellite Tectonic, Geodynamic, and Mass Wasting Surface Features: Constraints on Interior Processes and Evolution.[2]
Research
Singer continued as a postdoctoral researcher at Washington University after receiving her Ph.D. In 2014, she joined the New Horizons team at SwRI as a postdoctoral researcher, where she studies the geophysics of Kuiper Belt Objects, particularly cratering physics.[3] At SwRI, she is a senior research scientist and Deputy Project Scientist 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.[4][5][6][7][8] 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.[6]
Singer has coordinated and contributed to the 'Women in Planetary Science' blog site since 2009.[9] She has also contributed articles for the Planetary Society's website.[10]
Awards and honors
Singer received the American Astronomical Society (AAS) Division of Planetary Science (DPS) Harold C. Urey Prize in 2019,[11] which recognizes outstanding achievements in planetary science by early career researchers. Asteroid 10698 Singer was named in her honor.[12] The naming was published by the Minor Planet Center on 13 April 2017 (M.P.C.103977).[13]
References
- ↑ Gardner-Vandy, Kat (2011-05-09). "Kelsi Singer: do research as an undergraduate, and embrace the rewards of grad school" (in en). https://womeninplanetaryscience.wordpress.com/2011/05/09/kelsi-singer/.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ Courier, Left Hand Valley. "Niwot's Kelsi Singer is a planetary star". https://www.lhvc.com/story/2019/06/23/news/niwots-kelsi-singer-is-a-planetary-star/3518.html.
- ↑ Singer, K. N.; McKinnon, W. B.; Gladman, B.; Greenstreet, S.; Bierhaus, E. B.; Stern, S. A.; Parker, A. H.; Robbins, S. J. et al. (2019-03-01). "Impact craters on Pluto and Charon indicate a deficit of small Kuiper belt objects" (in en). Science 363 (6430): 955–959. doi:10.1126/science.aap8628. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 30819958. Bibcode: 2019Sci...363..955S.
- ↑ "New Horizons data indicates small Kuiper Belt Objects are rare" (in en-US). 2019-03-03. https://www.spaceflightinsider.com/missions/solar-system/new-horizons-data-indicates-small-kuiper-belt-objects-are-rare/.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Battle Scars on Pluto and Charon Reveal the Solar System's Origins" (in en-US). 28 February 2019. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/pluto-and-charons-battle-scars-reveal-the-solar-systems-origins/.
- ↑ "Crater counts on Pluto, Charon show small Kuiper Belt objects surprisingly rare" (in en). https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/02/190228141252.htm.
- ↑ "Pluto and Charon Don't Have Enough Small Craters" (in en-US). 2019-03-09. https://www.universetoday.com/141686/pluto-and-charon-dont-have-enough-small-craters/.
- ↑ "Kelsi Singer" (in en). http://kelsi.singer.googlepages.com/home.
- ↑ "Kelsi Singer" (in en). https://www.planetary.org/profiles/kelsi-singer.
- ↑ "2019 Prize Recipients | Division for Planetary Sciences". https://dps.aas.org/prizes/2019.
- ↑ "(10698) Singer = 1981 EJ43 = 1988 DM5 = 1993 RT20". https://minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?utf8=%E2%9C%93&object_id=10698.
- ↑ "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/iau/ECS/MPCArchive/MPCArchive_TBL.html.
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