New and exciting activities in the
McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences
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Recent News from MCSS Fellows
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Could convection in the crust explain Venus’s many volcanoes?
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Venus — a hot planet pocked with tens of thousands of volcanos — may be even more geologically active near its surface than previously thought. New calculations by WashU researchers in Earth, environmental, and planetary sciences suggest that the planet’s outer crust may be constantly churning, an unexpected phenomenon called convection that could help
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2025 McDonnell Distinguished Lecture Series
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Joseph S. and Sophia S. Fruton Professor
of Astronomy and Physics
Yale University
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MCSS 50th Anniversary Symposium
May 20-22
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In May 2025, the Center will be celebrating fifty years of playing a key role at Washington University through endowed professorships, acquisition of sophisticated instrumentation, support of faculty involvement in space science missions, supporting postdoctoral and graduate student fellowships and undergraduate
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interns, seeding innovative research, administering visiting scientist programs, and fostering wide-reaching collaborations.
Join us as we celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences and look ahead to new opportunities to advance knowledge of our Solar System and our universe.
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Recent Publications by MCSS Fellows
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Acevedo, J. F., Cappiello, C., et al. (2025). Loosely bound composite dark matter. Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, 2025(03), 013.
Lodders, K., et al. (2025). Solar System Elemental Abundances from the Solar Photosphere and CI-Chondrites. Space Science Reviews 221, 23.
Liu, H., Flynn, E. D., Catalano, J. G., et al. (2025). Structural transformation of manganese oxides induced by the oxidation of As(III) and Mn(II). Geochimica Et Cosmochimica Acta.
Calleya, N., Atkinson, M., & Dickhoff, W. (2025). Investigating the weak charge of 48Ca using a dispersive optical model. Physics Letters B, 139371.
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Kouch, P. M., Krawczynski, H., Hu, K., Errando, M., et al. (2025). IXPE observation of the low-synchrotron peaked blazar S4 0954+65 during an optical-X-ray flare. Astronomy and Astrophysics.
Crane, K. T., & Byrne, P. K. (2025). Insight into Venusian Ridge belts with maps, models, and earth analogs. Journal of Geophysical Research Planets, 130(3).
Schönbächler, M., Amari, S., et al. (2024). Zirconium isotope composition indicates s‐process depletion in samples returned from asteroid Ryugu. Meteoritics and Planetary Science, 60(1), 3–16.
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Application Deadline: Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships
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MCSS offers ten Undergraduate Summer Research Fellowships, five to students in EEPS and five to students in Physics.
This fellowship is geared toward undergraduate students who may be considering graduate school. McDonnell Center faculty fellows guide the student on a specific space-science-related research project during the summer. Students interested in applying should discuss potential research with a McDonnell Center faculty member. The term is for ten weeks in the upcoming summer.
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Application deadline: TODAY, Friday, March 28th.
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Baines Family Planetary Sciences Scholarship
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The nomination period for the Baines Family Planetary Sciences Scholarship is now open. The preference for selection of this scholarship shall be based on:
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- An undergraduate student who is pursuing or who has completed research in the McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences,
- An undergraduate pursuing a major in Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences, Physics, or Chemistry, or
- An undergraduate pursuing a minor in one of the above departments.
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We invite MCSS fellows to nominate students, preferrably currently in their sophomore or junior years but outstanding freshman will also be considred, who have shown strong academic performance and dedication to these fields of study.
Please send your nominations, including a brief supporting statement, to Vickie Gee. The deadline for submissions is April 11, 2025.
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Submit Videos for the New 3D Monitor
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Have you seen the new holographic fan on the first floor of Rudolph Hall? It's located in an alcove across from the Grossman Mineral Museum.
Thanks to a generous donation from Jerrold and Marsha Grossman, EEPS has acquired this advanced technology. The plan is to highlight students engaged in research.
We would love to have your help with video creation!
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A Revolution in Stellar Astrophysics, and the Remaining Challenges
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Space Sciences/Astrophysics Seminar
Mükremin Kılıç
University of Oklahoma
TODAY, Friday, March 28
9:00am, Compton 241
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| Seeing the Dark with Gravitational Lensing
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Saturday Science Lecture
Tansu Daylan and Bryce Wedig
Saturday, March 29
10:00am, Crow 201
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| Physics Colloquium
Andrei Beloborodov
Columbia University
Wednesday, April 2
3:00pm, Crow 204
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Ground-based Radial Velocity Surveys as the Foundation for Future Space Missions
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Space Sciences/Astrophysics Seminar
Howard Isaacson
University of California Berkeley
Friday, April 4
9:00am, Compton 241
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| Unveiling Material Mysteries of the Universe
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Saturday Science Lecture
Sheng Ran
WashU
Sunday, April 6
Please note that this Saturday Science event is on Sunday!
10:00am, Crow 201
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Space Science Week 2025
March 31 - April 4
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Space Science Week is the joint meeting of the Space Studies Board of the U.S. National Academies discipline committees in collaboration with the Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board and Board on Physics and Astronomy.
On Tuesday, April 1, a full-day plenary session will convene all six committees for a joint session.
The keynote public lecture - "The Warped Side of Our Universe: Exploring the Intersection of Art and Science" - will be held at 6:30 pm on Wednesday, April 2, featuring a conversation between physicist Kip Thorne and artist Lia Halloran.
You can register to attend in person, or go to their website to attend virtually. No registration is necessary to attend virtually.
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#SciComm Seminar: Communicating Effectively with Policymakers
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| April 17, 2025 2:00-3:00pm on Zoom
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#SciComm Seminar is a free seminar series featuring expert guests from the WashU community and beyond, discussing topics related to all aspects of science communication.
Ross C. Brownson, WashU Public Health, will discuss the basic principles for effective communication with policymakers, including core concepts from communication science, ways of bridging political divides, the application of a useful communication model, and elements of an effective policy brief.
This event is open to all, but registration is required.
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Subscribe to the MCSS Messenger
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| McDonnell Center Contacts |
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Compiled and edited by Alison Verbeck. Please send any contributions to alison@wustl.edu.
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© 2025 All rights reserved
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