Group members and research

A typical group photo during WFH through zoom.

Current group members at the University of Texas at San Antonio (2023-present):

Mentored Students:

  • Adis Husic (2nd year PhD student, Physics): Characterization of Titan haze analogs using a new experimental setup.
  • Cindy Luu (2nd year PhD student, Physics): Do sub-Neptunes have supercritical ocean?
  • Eric Austin (1st year PhD student, Physics): Characterizing the physical properties of interstellar organics to understand planet formation.
  • Allen (Boshu) Qiao (Senior, Physics): Expanding and archiving the Titan material database with the NASA Planetary Data System (PDS).
  • Emran Ismail (Senior, Physics): Trends in exoplanet haziness with JWST.
  • Ricardo Vega (Junior, Physics): Comparative study of the mechanical properties of organics on Titan.
  • Reggie Delaney (Junior, Physics): Building a vacuum furnace system for exoplanet/Venus research.
  • Phillip Doubleday (Junior, Physics): 3D printing of asteroid shape models.

Postdocs:

  • Dr. Jose Raul Montes Bojorquez (2024-present): Characterizing the optical properties of Titan and exoplanet haze analogs.
  • Dr. Sara Port (2024-present): Mineral-gas interactions in warm exoplanet atmospheres.

University of California Santa Cruz (former group members, 2019–2023)

  • Charles Cordts (Senior, Physics): Flocculation of organic sediments in methane rivers on Titan.
  • Beauxregard Martinez (Senior, Environmental Science): Flocculation of organic sediments in methane rivers on Titan.
  • Mary Kelly (Sophomore, Physics): Archiving the optical constants of gas tholins.
  • Ziyu Huang (University of Southern California PhD ’23, Aerospace Engineering): Identify surfaces on cool exoplanets. Ziyu is currently a postdoc at Georgia Tech.
  • Erik White (UCSC undergrad ’23, BS EPS): Comparison study on the surface energies of Titan haze analogs & Flocculation experiments on Titan.
  • Jolie Wolff (UCSC undergrad ’23, BS EPS): Deciphering the chemical composition of ice clouds on Titan.
  • Vanessa Mendoza (UCSC undergrad ’23, BS EPS): Haze evolution on eccentric exoplanets. Vanessa is currently a grad student at Western Washington University.
  • Jialin Li (UCSC undergrad ’22, BS physics, Chancellor’s Undergraduate Research Award): Compari- son study on the surface energies of Titan haze analogs & Understanding the effect of surfaces on the compositions of exoplanet atmospheres. Jialin is currently a NSF Graduate Research Fellow at the University of Arizona.
  • Austin Dymont (UCSC undergrad ’22, BS physics, Chancellor’s Undergraduate Research Award): Trends in haziness of temperate exoplanets & Decipher the nature of super-puffy exoplanets. Austin is currently a grad student at the University of Chicago.
  • Ethan Romo (UCSC undergrad ’22, BS EPS): Comparison study on the mechanical properties of Titan haze analogs. Ethan is currently a technician at compatible electronics.
  • Julia Garver (UCSC undergrad ’21, BS astrophysics): Cloud formation on Titan. Julia is currently an aerospace engineer.
  • Taylor Duncan (UCSC undergrad ’21, BS EPS): Outgassing experiments of carbonaceous chon- drites. Taylor is currently a grad student at the University of Western Ontario.
  • Yue (Yuna) Yu (UCSC undergrad ’20, BS EPS): Aerosol-Cloud-Lake Interactions on Titan. Yuna is currently a grad student at the University of Geneva.
  • Kyle Kim (UCSC undergrad ’19, BS EPS): Outgassing experiments of carbonaceous chondrites. Kyle is currently a grad student at the University of Maryland.
  • Connor Dickinson (UCSC undergrad, astrophysics): Interactive website for trends in exoplanet haziness.
  • Abigale Hawthorn (UCSC undergrad, astrophysics): Interactive website for material properties of organics liquids, ices, and solids on Titan.
  • Amaan Khwaja and Yash Rajpal (high-school students): Interactive website for trends in haziness of cool exoplanets.
  • Francesca Tom (high-school student): Cloud formation on Titan.