Awards and Accolades
The interdisciplinary work of ASU’s School of Earth and Space Exploration brings together the brightest minds in astronomy and astrophysics, cosmology, geosciences, planetary sciences, exploration systems engineering and science education. Our award-winning faculty, post-docs, research scientists, graduate students, and undergraduate students are recognized internationally, nationally, and locally for their achievements. Learn about the latest academic award recipients and the awards our fabulous support staff have been honored with over the last few years by exploring the categories below.
Undergraduate Students
Academic Year 2021-2022
Emily Softitch
Greeley Planetary Geology Scholarship
Academic Year 2020-2021
Cameron Helm, Megan Thomas, Liam Nolan, Cameron Reed, Elizabeth Chiffelle, and Christian Kroemer
Phi Beta Kappa Inductees
Jane Rector
Robert Dietz Field Camp Scholarship
Erin Alexander
Ravi DeFillippo Field Camp Scholarship
Jerri Moore
Richard W. Oldham Geology Field Camp Scholarship
Griffin Davis and Joseph Powell
Geology Field Camp Scholarships
Claire Blaske
Dwornik Honorable Mention for Undergraduate Oral Presentation at the 2021 Lunar and Planetary Science Conference
Junehyoung Jeon
Spring 2021 College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Dean's Medalist
Delondrae Carter
AAS Chambliss Student Poster Award for American Astronomical Society Honorable Mention
Sarah Braunisch
Fall 2020 College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Dean's Medalist
Delondrae Carter
2020 Honorable Mention USRA Distinguished Undergraduate Award
Academic Year 2019-2020
Lily Whitler
2020 NSF Graduate Research Fellowship
Delondrae Carter
2020 Goldwater Scholarship
Madeline Marquardt
2020 Nininger Student Travel Award
Graduate Students
Academic Year 2021-2022
Delondrae Carter
Graduate College Interdisciplinary Enrichment Fellowships
Alejandro Olvera and Talia Saeid
Presidents Graduate Assistantship
Academic Year 2020-2021
Soumya Ray
2020 Nininger Meteorite Award Honorable Mention
Jackie Giblin and Jessie Bersson
Awarded Community Foundation for Southwest Washington (CFSWW) Kleinman Grants
Vince Debes, Mrudula Gopal Krishna, Saira Hamid, Felix Ishimwe, Austin Ware
2021 Summer Exploration Graduate (SEG) Fellowships
Marah Brinjikji, John Malloy, Alexandra Pye, Lindsey Wiser
2021 Summer Exploration Graduate (SEG) Research Awards
Alexa Drew and Samuel Courville
First-Year Graduate Fellowships
Madison Borelli, Jasmine Garani, Kevin Trinh, Qian Yuan
Nininger Student Travel Awards
Saira Hamid
2021 National Science Foundation Graduate Student Research Fellowship
Morgan Chidester and Ebraheem Farag
AAS Chambliss Student Poster Award for American Astronomical Society Honorable Mentions
Jisoo Kim and Luisa Orci Fernandez
2020-21 ASU Graduate College Interdisciplinary Enrichment Fellowships
Gregory Vance and Emily Zawacki
2020-21 ASU Graduate College Completion Fellowships
Jessica Bersson, Saira Hamid, Marisol Juarez Rivera, and Tyler McCabe
2020-21 Graduate College Fellowships
Lindsay Berkhout, Christopher Dupuis, Jessica Bersson, Emma Blackwell, Logan “Wren” Raming and Qian Yuan
2020-21 School of Earth and Space Exploration Summer Exploration Graduate Fellowships
Academic Year 2019-2020
Santosh Harish and Mansi Padave
2020 Chambliss Astronomy Achievement Student Awards by the American Astronomical Society
Emilie Dunham
2020 51 Pegasi b Fellowship in Planetary Astronomy from the Heising-Simons Foundation
Paul Horton
2020 NASA Space Technology Graduate Research Opportunities fellowship
Grace Carlson, Tyler Richey-Yowell and Dan Sullivan
2020 NASA FINESST awards
Soumya Ray, Vishaal Singh, and Zachary Torrano
2020 Nininger Student Travel Awards
Kristen Whitney
2020 Babbitt Dissertation Fellowship from the Lincoln Land Policy Institute
Santosh Harish
2020 AAS Chambliss Astronomy Achievement award
Kyle Massingill
2020 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics
Academic Year 2018-2019
Mansi Padave
SESE Summer Exploration Fellowship
Stephanie Sparks
2019 American Geosciences Institute Harriet Evelyn Wallace Scholarship
Tyler Cox
American Astronomical Society 2019 Chambliss Student Achievement Award
Sierra Ferguson, Nivedita Mahesh, Zachary Torrano, and Joseph Zalesky
Inaugural Future Investigators in NASA Earth and Space Science and Technology (FINESST) Program
Academic Year 2017-2018
Soumya Ray
Awarded the NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowship
Wren Raming and Eric Escoto
2018 National Science Foundation graduate fellowship
Daniel Dunlap
2018 Dwornik award at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference
Mary Schultz
2017 William L. Fisher Congressional Geoscience Fellowship from The American Geosciences Institute
Aleisha Johnson, Daniel Dunlap, Mostafa Khoshmanesh, and Travis Gabriel
2017 NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowships
Research Scientists and Postdocs
Academic Year 2020-2021
Chris Mead (lead author), Geoffrey Bruce, Wendy Taylor and Steven Semken
Lead author on the National Association of Geoscience Teachers Journal of Geoscience Education 2020 Outstanding Paper Award. Additional School of Earth and Space Exploration authors include Geoffrey Bruce, Wendy Taylor, Steven Semken and Ariel D. Anbar.
Carver Bierson
AGU 2020 Study of Earth’s Deep Interior Section Award for Graduate Research
Academic Year 2017-2018
Melodie Kao
2018 NASA Hubble fellowship
Academic Year 2016-2017
Adam Beardsley
2017 National Science Foundation Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellowship
Faculty
Academic Year 2020-2021
Sumner Starrfield
Elected to the Steering Committee of the International Astrophysical Union Division G: Stars and Stellar Physics
Craig Hardgrove
Advisor to Team AURORA winner of NASA's Glenn Research Center's University Student Design Challenge (with undergraduate student Nicole Swatton of Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering)
Lindy Elkins-Tanton
Elected to the National Academy of Sciences
Mini Wadhwa
Appointed as the Mars Sample Return program scientist
Elizabeth Trembath-Reichert
Honored by the International Center for Deep Life Investigation with the 2020 SiYan Ocean Emerging Leader award
Mini Wadhwa
Honored with the title Geochemistry Fellow by the Geochemical Society and the European Association of Geochemistry
Kelin Whipple
2021 ASU Graduate College Outstanding Faculty Mentor in the category of Outstanding Postdoctoral Mentor
Mini Wadhwa
2021 National Academy of Sciences' J. Lawrence Smith Medal
Ramon Arrowsmith
2020 AGU Paul Silver Award for Outstanding Scientific Service (Geodesy, Seismology, and Tectonophysics)
Mark Robinson
2020 Michael J. Wargo Exploration Science Award by NASA SSERVI, for his significant contribution to the integration of exploration and planetary science throughout his career
Ariel Anbar
GSA 2020 Arthur L. Day medal in recognition of his outstanding research contributions, mentoring for generations of students, and vigorous promotion of science in the public sphere
Academic Year 2019-2020
Philip Christensen
Selected to co-chair the NAS 2023-2032 Decadal Survey on Planetary Science and Astrobiology
Sara Imari Walker
2020 Human Frontier Science Program award
National Institute of Health Challenge Prize for Innovation for the “Integrated Discovery Chemputer Towards Addiction-Free Opiates"
Sumner Starrfield and Anne Cowley (Emerita)
Elected in 2020 to the first class of the American Astronomical Society Fellows
Elizabeth Trembath-Reichert
2020 L’Oréal UNESCO for Women in Science Rising Talent Award
Lindy Elkins-Tanton
National Academy of Sciences 2020 Arthur L. Day Prize and Lectureship
Mini Wadhwa
Elected an American Geophysical Union Fellow
Christy Till
Awarded the 2019 Early Career Award from Geological Society of America
Kelin Whipple
2019 American Geophysical Union G.K. Gilbert Award
Academic Year 2018-2019
Peter Buseck
2019 Roebling Medal from the Mineralogical Society of America
Everett Shock
2019 Geochemistry Division Medal from the American Chemical Society
Ariel Anbar
2019 European Science Innovation Award from the European Association of Geochemistry
Evan Scannapieco
2019 Dr. Manual Servin Faculty Award from ASU
Phil Christensen
2018 Fred Whipple Award for outstanding contributions to planetary science
Steve Reynolds
Awarded the rank of ASU President’s Professor, one of the university’s most prestigious faculty honors
Christy Till
Elected Secretary of AGU’s Volcanology, Geochemistry and Petrology section
Academic Year 2017-2018
Ariel Anbar
2018 Founders’ Day Faculty Achievement Award by the ASU Alumni Association
Dave Williams
Elected Secretary of AGU’s Planetary Sciences Section
Lindy Elkins-Tanton
Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences for her exceptional scholarship and leadership
Ariel Anbar
Inaugural 2017 Chronicle of Higher Education’s “Teaching Innovators” award
Staff
Academic Year 2020-2021
Sheri Klug Boonstra
Appointed to the National Academies committee to address the topic of “Building a Foundation for Assessing the Health and Vitality of the Science Mission Directorate’s Research Communities" for NASA
Sheri Klug Boonstra
AGU 2020 Excellence in Earth and Space Science Education award
Academic Year 2018-2019
Debbie Garcia
2019 College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR) Western Region HR Excellence Award
Current Exploration Fellows (2020-2021 academic year)
Since its inception in 2010, the Exploration Fellowship program has launched many Fellows to tenure-track or permanent research positions following their fellowships. Read about the research interests of current Fellows below.
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Luiza Maria Aparecido (2020-2023) Ph.D., Texas A&M |
How much is shade worth? Mitigating the urban heat island through Earth observation and smarter green infrastructure |
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Alan Jackson (2019-2022) Ph.D., University of Cambridge |
Terrestrial Planet Formation at Home and Abroad |
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Anna Grau (2018-2021) Ph.D., University of British Columbia |
A First Detailed Characterization of the Glacial and Subglacial Environment of Early Mars |
Former Exploration Fellows
Since its inception in 2010, the Exploration Fellowship program has launched many Fellows to tenure-track or permanent research positions following their fellowships. Read about the research interests of former Fellows below.
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Joseph O'Rourke (2017-2020) Assistant Professor, Arizona State University |
Implications of Core/Mantle Miscibility for the Accretion of Earth and the Evolution of Super-Earth Exoplanets |
| Charlene Estrada (2016-2019) Faculty, South Mountain Community College |
Characterization and Early Transformation of Microfossils at Mineral Surfaces through Deep Time |
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Ajay Limaye (2018-2019) Assistant Professor, University of Virginia |
Linking Meandering River Deposits to an Ancient Surface Environment on Mars |
| Cayman Unterborn (2016-2018) Postdoctoral Research Scientist, School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University |
From Star to Stone: Building an Internally Self-Consistent and Open-Source Terrestrial Planet Builder for Exploring Extrasolar Habitability |
| Karen Pardos Olsen (2015-2018) Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of Arizona |
Interstellar Gas Conditions at High Redshift; Modeling [CII] and CO Line Emission |
| Sarah Cichy (2014-2016) Senior Research Scientist, University of Potsdam |
Towards an Eruption-Geospeedometer: Diffusive Lithium Isotope Fractionation During Degassing and Crystal Growth |
| Harmony Colella (2014-2016) Moore Foundation Fellow, UC-Berkeley and the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services |
Investigation of Complex Fault Interactions with a Physics-Based Earthquake Simulator & Qualitative Assessment of Research Experiences for Undergraduates |
| Monica Palta (2014-2016) Assistant Professor, Environmental Studies and Science, Pace Universit |
Linking Riverine-Wetland Hydrogeomorphic and Biogeochemical Modeling in Urban and Natural Reaches of the Salt River |
| Adam Forte (2013-2015) Assistant Professor, Dept. of Geology and Geophysics, Louisiana State University |
Bridging the Gap Between Geomorphology and Stratigraphy with Detrital Thermo- and Geochronology: The Influence of Surface Processes on the Detrital Zircon Record |
| Anand Thirumalai (2013-2015) Assistant Professor, DigiPen Institute of Technology |
Wolf-Rayet Stars - A Magneto-Dusty Demise |
| Anne Pommier (2012-2014) Assistant Professor Scripps Institute of Oceanography Univ. California, San Diego |
High Pressure Measurements of Silicate Melt Viscosity: Implications for Magma Ocean Dynamics and Time Evolution |
| Zhenya Zheng (2012-2014) Research Professor Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, CAS (China) |
Co-evolution of Galaxies and Their Central Black Holes |
| Lauren Edgar (2012-2014) Research Geologist Astrogeology Science Center U.S. Geological Survey |
Evaluating the Magnitude of Erosive Processes at Gale Crater, Mars |
| Ed Nissen (2011-2012) Associate Professor School of Earth and Ocean Sciences University of Victoria |
Rapid Collection of Topographic Data from UAVs: Applications for Earthquake Faulting and Earth Surface Processes |
| Jordan Okie (2011-2012) Assistant Research Professor School of Earth and Space Exploration Arizona State University |
Thermodynamic and Kinetic Constraints on Metabolic Diversity: Quantifying the Biogeochemical Niche Space of Life |
| Soma De (2010-2013) Postdoctoral Fellow, Cosmology Research Group Institute for Astronomy ETH Zurich |
SNe 1a Light Curves; Martian Atmosphere; Polarization spectra of cosmic microwave background |
| Briony Horgan (2010-2012) Associate Professor Dept. of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences Purdue University |
Non-Crystalline Weathering Products on Mars |
| Melissa Morris (2010-2011) Associate Professor Dept. of Physics State University of New York (SUNY) |
Evaporation Histories of Chondrules (nebula shocks) |
| Loÿc Vanderkluysen (2010-2013) Associate Professor Dept. of Biodiversity, Earth and Environmental Science Drexel University |
Fluids and Dynamics LUSI Mud Volcano |
| Hua Wang (2010-2011) | In-Situ Measurement of Shear Stress and Chemical Species in Hotsprings |