Eva L. Scheller
Assistant Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences
Planetary surface chemistry of terrestrial and icy worlds
What are the chemical inventories across the surfaces of solid planetary bodies? How were primary surface chemistry trends created through processes governing solid body planetary evolution? To what extent is in-situ characterized planetary surface chemistry (ices, volatiles, salts, aqueous minerals, organic compounds) tracers of ancient planet-shaping reactions, environmental and physical conditions, and geological processes?
Long-term planetary volatile evolution
How do geochemical reactions between terrestrial body atmospheres, surfaces, crust, and interiors affect the evolution of Mars and Venus’ atmospheres and habitable surface environments over geological time? What are the major inventories of volatiles on terrestrial and icy worlds, how do they change, and how are they lost/retained over time?
Numerical, probabilistic, and autonomous methods for planetary chemistry
How can we infer material compositions and chemical processes while rigorously quantifying uncertainty and ambiguity in sparse planetary datasets? How can laboratory measurements, physical models, and spacecraft observations be combined into coherent chemical interpretations? How can we develop trustworthy autonomous methods that rigorously maximizes chemical information yield from spacecraft missions and minimizes human bias?
Spaceflight instrumentation for planetary chemical analysis
How can planetary missions make reliable and quantified chemical discoveries with limited measurements and incomplete prior knowledge? How can instruments detect trace compounds and distinguish genuine chemical signatures from contamination, instrumental artifacts, and degenerate signals? How can we maximize chemical information within engineering and mission constraints? Can scientific output of planetary missions be optimized reliably through intelligent instrumentation and autonomous decision-making?