Discovery of a Thorne-Zytkow Object Candidate in the Small Magellanic Cloud

Thorne-Zytkow objects (TZOs) are a theoretical class of star in which a compact neutron star is surrounded by a large, diffuse envelope. Supergiant TZOs are predicted to be almost identical in appearance to red supergiants (RSGs), with their very red colors and cool temperatures placing them at the Hayashi limit on the H-R diagram. The best features that can be used at present to distinguish TZOs from the general RSG population are the unusually strong heavy-element lines present in their spectra.

HAIR: History of Animals using Isotope Records

Stable isotopes provide information on the history of individual animals, as well as over evolutionary time scales for animal lineages. In this talk I will discuss how isotopes can be used to understand the reconstruct the diets of individuals and to put constraints on travel histories of individuals. As case examples, I discuss controlled feeding experiments to constrain model parameters and show that forward and inverse modeling can be used to reconstruct diets over time.

A Lifetime in Thermodynamics

I remember a fellow graduate student asking, “what is a bright young thing like you doing in a dead field like thermodynamics?” That was 1964. I have had an exciting and successful career; he disappeared. I have always regarded thermodynamics as a tool for understanding chemical bonding and reactivity, not just an exercise to produce numbers in tables.

Gas-Solid Reactions in Earth and Planetary Systems

A fundamental question in earth and planetary systems is: how are chemical elements distributed from high temperature in the planet's interior to low temperatures at the surface, atmosphere and/or ocean? This question is at the heart of understanding how life originated, how planetary atmospheres develop, how ore deposits form and how climate is regulated.

The Past, Present and Future of Understanding Earthquakes using Space Observations

GPS and airborne measurements are showing that permanent ground deformations occur from earthquakes beyond the main earthquake rupture. NASA's airborne L-band radar UAVSAR platform has observed three California earthquakes since it became operational California in late 2009. By combining before and after images, UAVSAR provides repeat pass interferometry measurements that show motions of the Earth's surface.

Global Warming: A Geologic Analogue

Fifty-five million years ago, over a period of less than 10,000 years, the Earth's temperature jumped up by 5º C and remained there for about 20,000 years. As this warming was driven by CO2, it serves as a geologic analogue for the ongoing fossil fuel-induced warming. One message it sends us is that we might trigger a long-term release of methane stored in continental margin sediments.

Welcome, and thank you for your interest in the Fall 2025 School of Earth and Space Exploration Colloquium Series.

Colloquia take place at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesdays in the Marston Theater on the first floor of ISTB4 virtually and in person. Those attending in person will be expected to abide by ASU’s COVID rules for classrooms and other gatherings.

For more information, please contact Larry Nittler [email protected], colloquium committee chair.

Systems Engineering is the school's newest and fastest growing focus area. Through this initiative, we are building the capacity to design and build a wide array of instruments to enable scientific research on Earth and in space. Our research teams are involved in both component development and system integration. Current projects fall into three broad categories: astronomical instrumentation, sensors and cameras for remote sensing and in situ characterization of planetary surfaces, and environmental robotics systems for a variety of terrestrial and space applications.