New and exciting activities in the
McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences
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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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Recent News from MCSS Fellows
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Unlocking Space Science: The Analyst's Notebook and Its Legacy at WashU
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For over 25 years, WashU has received funding from NASA to build "The Analyst's Notebook," a multimedia knowledge discovery tool.
Initially developed with funds from NASA’s Planetary Data System and the Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity missions in the mid-90s, the Analyst's Notebook has evolved into a comprehensive platform encompassing landed missions to Mars and Earth’s Moon.
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Tom Stein, Geosciences Node Associate Director, has been the project's lead since its beginning. Staff Scientist Ethan Schaefer has been diligently refining his coding skills necessary to work on the Analyst's Notebook.
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Presolar Grains in Extra-Terrestrial Materials:
Probing Stars with Stardust
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Sachiko Amari is the editor of a new book, Presolar Grains in Extra-Terrestrial Materials: Probing Stars with Stardust, published today by Elsevier.
The book presents the latest research on presolar grains and their stellar sources in a cohesive resource for bringing researchers in cosmochemistry, astrophysics, and astronomy up to speed on the state-of-the-art developments, analysis, and future implications.
Many members of MCSS, both past and present, contributed significantly to the book. Tyron Daulton explores the study of presolar diamonds. Katharina Lodders and Bruce Fegley, Jr. discuss grain formation in stellar outflows and ejecta, along with
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the fundamentals of condensation calculations. Sachiko Amari, in collaboration with Manavi Jadhav (an MCSS alumna), reports on presolar graphite grains found in meteorites. Additional contributions come from alumni Larry Nittler and Rhonda Stroud, who examine presolar oxides, and Pierre Haenecour, who covers presolar silicates.
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| Recent Publications by MCSS Fellows
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Acharyya, A., Buckley, J. H., Errando, M., Rabinowitz, P. L., et al. (2025). An In-depth Study of Gamma Rays from the Starburst Galaxy M82 with VERITAS. The Astrophysical Journal, 981(2), 189.
Kunimoto, M., Daylan, T., et al. (2024). Two Earth-size Planets and an Earth-size Candidate Transiting the nearby Star HD 101581*. The Astronomical Journal, 169(1), 47.
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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.
Application deadline: 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 you 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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Research Development Associate (Hybrid)
Arts & Sciences - Space Sciences
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WashU will be hiring a Research Development Associate who will work with the faculty of MCSS, Physics, and Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences to identify opportunities to propose to mission programs such as are available through NASA’s Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Science (ROSES), through the National Science Foundation (NSF), or through other agencies or foundations.
If you know anyone interested in applying, please share the link!
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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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The Cosmic Mystery and History of Fast Radio Bursts
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St. Louis Astronomical Society March Meeting
Duncan Lorimar
West Virginia University
Friday, March 21
7:30pm, Wilson 214
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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
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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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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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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