Innovation Speaker Series Talk

Dr. Jessica Watkins has been selected by NASA as a member of the 2017 Astronaut Candidate class and is reporting for training at the Johnson Space Center in August.

Dr. Watkins' website details her bio:

"I am a GPS Chair's Postdoctoral Fellow and a California Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate Postdoctoral Fellow in the Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences at California Institute of Technology. My current research focuses on using orbital and rover topographic and image data to investigate the stratigraphy, geology, and geomorphology of Mars.  

I am also interested in exploring the role of fractures as conduits for fluid flow, both in Gale crater and elsewhere on Mars, as well as constraining the emplacement mechanism(s) of long-runout landslides in Valles Marineris using high-resolution orbital imagery, spectral data, and field investigation of a terrestrial analog. 

I received a Ph.D. in Geology from UCLA in 2015 and a B.S. in Geological and Environmental Sciences from Stanford University in 2010. 

My personal interests include playing rugby, coaching basketball, writing short stories, rock climbing, and flying planes."

Summer App Space is hosting a speaker series and student driven Q&A open to the entire Caltech community. Invited industry leaders in astronomy, astrophysics, aerospace, software engineering, investment, and entrepreneurship (startups) share their journey and technical knowledge. The free talks allow Summer App Space students and the Caltech community to network with a wide range of successful professionals.