Meenakshi Wadhwa

Meenakshi Wadhwa
School Director and Foundation Professor

Meenakshi Wadhwa is the Director of the School of Earth and Space Exploration.

Her research focuses on isotope cosmochemistry, in particular the sources and distributions of extinct radionuclides in the solar nebula; the formation and evolution of crust-mantle reservoirs on Earth, Moon and Mars; and the abundance and origin of water and other volatiles on rocky bodies in the solar system.

Hilairy Hartnett

Hilairy Hartnett
Deputy Director

Hilairy Hartnett has joint appointments in the School of Earth and Space Exploration and in the School of Molecular Sciences. Her current research interests are in the areas of biogeochemistry and organic geochemistry and focus on how geochemical, microbial, and anthropogenic processes affect the dynamic linked elemental cycles in modern, and paleo-environments.

Chris Groppi

Chris Groppi

Associate Director of Graduate Initiatives

Chris Groppi is an experimental astrophysicist interested in the process of star and planet formation and the evolution and structure of the interstellar medium. His current research focuses on the design and construction of state of the art terahertz receiver systems optimized to detect the light emitted by molecules and atoms in molecular clouds, the birthplace of stars.

Kelin Whipple

Kelin Whipple
Associate Director of Undergraduate Initiatives

Kelin Whipple is a geomorphologist interested in the interactions among climate, topography, and tectonics. His work focuses on developing the capacity to interpret the history of tectonic activity and climate change that is recorded in landforms and associated sedimentary records.

Patrick Young

Patrick Young
Associate Director of Community Outreach

Patrick Young is a theoretical astrophysicist interested in the lives and deaths of stars and their effects on their environments, from synthesis of the chemical elements to planetary habitability. His current research touches on computational hydrodynamics simulations of stellar interiors, supernovae and gamma-ray bursts and the synthesis and ejection of elements by nuclear fusion in stars and stellar explosions. He also models the evolution of stars and how their radiation, winds, and stellar activity may affect the habitability of nearby planets.

Evan Scannapieco

Evan Scannapieco
Associate Director for an Inclusive Community 

Evan Scannapieco is an astrophysicist whose research is focused on achieving a better understanding of the feedback processes in galaxy formation and the evolution of the elements across cosmic time.