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American planetary geologist
Cynthia B. Phillips (born 1973)
[1] is an American
planetary geologist who works for
NASA at the
Jet Propulsion Laboratory . A focus of her research has been
Europa , one of the moons of Jupiter, and she is project staff scientist and project science communications lead for the
Europa Clipper spacecraft mission.
[2] An expert on processing images from space missions to the planets and their moons, and on the geological processes operating within moons,
[3] she has studied the effects of asteroid impacts on the surface of Europa,
[4] and definitions of
non-earth-based life that could apply on places like Europa that are outside the
circumstellar habitable zone .
[5]
Phillips went to
Concord-Carlisle High School in
Concord, Massachusetts , where she grew up. She was an undergraduate at
Harvard University , where she studied astronomy, astrophysics, and physics,
[2] graduating
magna cum laude with an A.B. in 1995.
[6] She completed a Ph.D. in planetary science at the
University of Arizona in 2000. Her dissertation, Voyager and Galileo SSI Views of Volcanic Resurfacing on Io and the Search for Geologic Activity on Europa , was supervised by
Alfred McEwen .
[7]
She worked as a researcher at the
SETI Institute for 15 years before joining the Jet Propulsion Laboratory to work on the Europa Clipper mission.
[2]
As well as her research publications, Phillips is a coauthor with Shana Priwer of science popularization books including:
101 Things You Didn't Know About Da Vinci: Inventions, Intrigue, and Unpublished Works
[8]
101 Things You Didn't Know About Einstein: Sex, Science, and the Secrets of the Universe
[8]
The Everything Astronomy Book: Discover the Mysteries of the Universe
[8]
The Everything Da Vinci Book: Explore the Life and Times of the Ultimate Renaissance Man
[8]
The Everything Einstein Book: From Matter and Energy to Space and Time, All You Need to Understand the Man and His Theories
[8]
Essential Astronomy: Everything You Need to Understand the Mysteries of Our Universe
Space Exploration for Dummies ,
[3]
Bridges and Spans
Dams and Waterways
Skyscrapers and High Rises
Ancient Monuments
Modern Wonders
^ Birth year from
Library of Congress catalog entry , retrieved 2022-08-14
^
a
b
c
"Cynthia Phillips: Planetary Geologist, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)" , NASA Science: Solar System Exploration , NASA, retrieved 2022-08-14
^
a
b
"Cynthia Phillips" , Meet Our Scientists , SETI Institute, archived from
the original on 2015-09-10
^
Surface of Jupiter's Moon Europa Churned by Small Impacts , NASA, July 12, 2021, retrieved 2022-08-14
^ Conditt, J. (March 11, 2018),
"NASA wants to change the way we think about the habitable zone" , Engadget , retrieved 2022-08-14
^
Biographical sketch (PDF) , SETI Institute, 2010, archived from
the original (PDF) on 2014-08-10
^
PTYS/LPL Alumni Directory , University of Arizona Lunar & Planetary Laboratory, retrieved 2022-08-14
^
a
b
c
d
e
"Cynthia Phillips" , About the author , Simon & Schuster, retrieved 2022-08-14