I completed my Ph.D. in the spring of 1998, and stayed on at ASU with Dr. Christensen, first as a Postdoctoral Researcher and then as a Faculty Research Associate, until 2002. My job was to keep looking that the spacecraft data, and try to understand the types of rocks and minerals that are on the surface of Mars. In August of 2002, I became an Assistant Professor in the Hawaii Institute of Geophysics and Planetology at the University of Hawaii. I give all of the great scientists I've had the privilege of working with credit for inspiring me to pursue this career, but in particular, Drs. Ellen Stofan (my first mentor at JPL) and Phil Christensen were instrumental in encouraging me and were excellent role models. The late Carl Sagan made planetary science interesting and approachable to me when I was young, and even though I wasn't anticipating a career in this field at that time, it kept me interested in the planets and space exploration.

What Mars-related research/work projects are you currently involved in? How do you conduct your research/work and what tools/technology do you use? How does math factor into your work?
I have been working most recently on the analysis and interpretation of the infrared spectroscopic data from both Mars Global Surveyor and a new spacecraft called Mars Odyssey, which are revealing new and exciting details of the geology of the Red Planet. One of my personal research goals has been to make a connection between meteorites from Mars that are found on Earth and the source regions of those meteorites on the planet Mars. The meteorites are pieces of Mars that contain a great deal of information, but we do not know where on Mars the meteorites came from. My research with the new spacecraft data has recently shown that rocks like the Martian meteorites are not present in large abundances over much of the Martian surface, which presents an intriguing problem -- why are so many Martian meteorites on Earth made of materials that are not abundant on Mars? At the same time, I have been able to find, for the first time, small, but specific regions on Mars from which some of these meteorites may have come. I also conduct laboratory research in infrared spectroscopy, analyzing rocks and minerals here on Earth in an effort to better understand their composition, so that we can improve our ability to interpret the data collected on Mars. My primary tools in the lab are a Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectrometer, which measures the infrared spectrum of rocks and minerals, and occasionally I use a microscope for examining the rock and mineral samples up close. Most of the time, however, I work with computers, analyzing the data we collect at Mars. I use many different computer programs, and occasionally write code to help me analyze the data. Math factors into my work regularly, although my computer does a lot of the math for me. (I still don't like math very much, and I'm not very good at it!)

What do you like best about your job? What do you like the least? What are the most common misconceptions that people have about what you do?
I think the best parts of my job are getting to look at data from another planet, and being my own boss. Only a few people on Earth have seen many of the pictures and spectra that I look at every day, and that is something very exciting and special to me. Although I have a boss at the university, I don't answer to him every day, and I get to do my work when and how I want to, and I get to do the research I want to -- no one tells me what to study. I dislike having to write proposals for research grants (money to do research); it's a necessary part of the job, but it takes away from my research time. It can be a little stressful because you have to write well and convince someone that what you want to do is a good idea. There aren't all that many misconceptions people have about this work -- if anything, they just don't know anything about it, or confuse planetary geology (looking at planets and moons made of rock) with astronomy (looking at stars and black holes, for example). I do get asked, with some seriousness, what I think about things like the Face on Mars or the "moon hoax." That's a little frustrating sometimes, because that sort of stuff distracts people from the really exciting science that's real, not made up.

Where have you traveled for your work? What's the favorite place you've been so far? What was the strangest or most incredible thing that happened to you while conducting your work?Considering that I'm not a traditional field geologist, I've traveled to a surprising number of places in the course of my work. There's "business" travel such as professional meetings and review panels that have taken me to lots of places in the U.S., including San Francisco, Houston, Washington, DC, and Denver. On two occasions when spacecraft have been launched to Mars, I've gone to Kennedy Space Center in Florida to watch the launches. I've helped lead field trips to sites that are geologically interesting and analogous to Mars; some places I've been are Mono Lake (CA), Death Valley (CA), western Arizona, and Kilauea volcano in Hawaii. Walking on just-cooled lava is one of the highlights of my life. As a friend of mine once pointed out, to a geologist, going to a volcano and seeing lava erupt and turn into rock is like making a pilgrimage to Mecca. I traveled to Rome, Italy for a professional meeting in 2001. That trip stands out in my mind in particular, because I was there on 11 September 2001. It was very difficult to be away from the States then, and we were concerned that we might not be able to return home for a while, but fortunately we were able to leave as scheduled several days later.

What were your favorite books as a kid? Why?
I loved Nancy Drew and Sherlock Holmes stories and books, and Agatha Christie's mysteries; solving mysteries and puzzles always has intrigued me, and I still read mystery books today. I'm fascinated by adventure stories too; when I was a young teen, there were "Choose Your Own Adventure" books that let you explore space, the ocean, the old west, ancient native ruins and all kinds of places. Journey to the Center of the Earth was a great classic too, and I also liked fantasy/science fiction. I think that all of these genres are representative of what I like about geology and planetary science -- you choose your own pathway, and along the way there are clues that preserve a whole history of events; you have to examine these clues and use them to figure out what happened. The fact that I study these things on Mars means space travel is involved, which is a staple of science fiction.

What was your favorite subject when you were in middle school? What advice do you wish someone would have given you at the time?
In middle school, I liked Spanish a lot, and was really intrigued by foreign languages. I never felt good at, nor did I enjoy, math; science was okay, but not my favorite subject either. I think that at the time I got a lot of encouragement to do what I liked and keep an open mind. I think that's the advice I would give -- keep your options open and try different things. You never know what subject you'll get into and decide you like. It's most important to find something you like and do that.

Why do you think it is important for students to learn about our solar system and specifically about Mars? Why do you think it is important for students to make comparisons between Earth and Mars, and what can we hope to learn by doing that?  Why explore the solar system in general and Mars specifically?
I think it's not only important to understand the Earth and how it works as a planet, but also the ways in which other planets are like or different than Earth. Having a fundamental understanding of how our solar system and the universe formed is important to us not only scientifically, in terms of the processes that are happening now and have happened in the past, but also in terms of understanding where we come from, and whether or not there might be other life forms somewhere else. Mars has many of the same geologic features as the Earth, but they are quite different in terms of scale, and the climate of Mars appears to have changed over time. Many scientists believe that Mars may have been hospitable to life at one time, and we'd like to know if that life ever started. If it did, what happened to it is very important, and if it didn't, it becomes interesting to understand why. Understanding the climate history of Mars may be important to us here on Earth, in terms of what our future may hold. In terms of making comparisons, we can use what we observe up close here on Earth to help us understand what we're seeing on Mars, which we cannot get to ourselves.

What one thing would you most like students to learn from participating in JASON Expedition: Mysteries of Earth and Mars?
I think there are two things that are important to me about this Expedition. First, I'd like students who might be afraid of science to realize that it can be an adventure and doesn't have to be intimidating; it's so much more exciting than balancing chemical formulas or doing math problems. Secondly, I hope that as a female, I can be a positive role model for young girls who might be interested in science and math, but may not think that they can do it.

What advice would you give to students who are interested in studying science? What are some of the diverse careers associated with the work that you do?
For the students who are already interested in science, I would simply encourage them to try to look outside the typical classes (biology, chemistry, physics) that are taught in middle and high school for other options in science. Find out about geology, geography, marine sciences, astronomy, and engineering. Students should know that there's a science for everyone -- if you like to be outdoors, and love the beach, there's a science that will let you be there. If you like to be indoors and work with computers, there's a field in science that will let you do that too. There are dozens of careers involved in planetary science. In addition to scientists, NASA hires accountants, teachers, artists, writers, engineers, mechanics, computer programmers, pilots, doctors, and of course, astronauts!

When you are not working, what do you like to do for fun?
I enjoy snorkeling and hiking. I particularly love hiking and camping in the southwest, in Arizona and southern Utah and Colorado. Occasionally I toss a Frisbee around with my boyfriend, or play tennis. I'm also a big fan of watching good movies, and reading a great book on a weekend afternoon. And it may seem strange, but a lot of times, when I have free time, I'll keep working on my research because there's something exciting going on, and I just want to figure it out!

Any final thoughts, words of advice, personal philosophy?
The advice I give to students most often is to try very hard to find a career that you enjoy, so that going to work is something you look forward to everyday, and you can't believe someone will pay you to do it. Take all kinds of classes that sound interesting in high school and college because you might find something great. It doesn't have to be science; it can be anything you find enjoyable and interesting. I suspect that every hobby can be turned into a career, or is part of a great career, and there's no point in having a job you don't like.