Principal Investigators
Alexander Hayes
Research ID: www.researcherid.com/rid/P-2024-2014
B.A., M.Eng. Cornell (2003)
M.S, Ph.D., Caltech (2011)
CV
Resume
hayes@astro.cornell.edu
Julie Rathbun
Senior Research Associate
Ph.D. in Astronomy, Cornell University (1999)
jar24@cornell.edu
Dr. Rathbun is currently a Senior Research Associate at Cornell University after previously being a Professor of Physics at The University of Redlands and a Senior Scientist at the Planetary Science Institute. Her research interests focus on thermal observation (spacecraft and ground-based) and modeling of outer solar system satellites. She is also a leader in Equity, Diversity, Inclusivity, and Accessibility (EDIA) in Planetary Science.
Outreach Coordinator, GIS Specialist
Zoe Learner Ponterio (she/they)
B.S. in Astrophysics & B.S. in Mathematics, Univ. of Oklahoma (2002)
Ph.D. Student, Astronomy, Cornell University (2002-2006)
cornellspif.com
CV
zap9@cornell.edu
Zoe is the Manager of the Spacecraft Planetary Image Facility (SPIF). Her duties include archiving hardcopy images and negatives from past planetary missions, planetary research support, coordinating preK-12 outreach and communicating science to the public.
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Research Associates
Dan Lalich
B.S. Astronomy with Physics minor, Case Western Reserve University (2012)
Ph.D. Geoscience, University of Texas at Austin (2017)
CV
del224@cornell.edu
Dan’s research has focused primarily on recent climate variability on Mars, particularly the affect of changing orbital conditions on surface ice deposits, and plans to apply these methods to help answer questions about Titan’s surface evolution using Cassini data, as well as continuing to investigate recent Mars history.
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Valerio Poggiali
Ph.D., Univ. of Rome La Sapienza (2016)
CV
vpoggiali@astro.cornell.edu
Valerio is a radar scientist with more than 10 years’ experience in the analysis of both monostatic and bistatic radar data from multiple planetary surfaces. He is particularly interested in the analysis of Cassini’s radar data relative to Saturn’s moon Titan, in order to determine its surface characteristics via modeling altimetry echoes, SAR backscatter and bistatic spectra.
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Una Gaylin Schneck
B.S. Geophysics & Space Physics, University of California, Los Angeles (2018)
Ph.D. Planetary Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2026)
ugschneck.com
CV
ugs3@cornell.edu
Una is a planetary geomorphologist studying Earth, Mars, and icy moons with a focus on the numerical modeling of fluvial and glacial landscape.
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Graduate Students
Charlie Detelich
B.S. Geology (minors in Meteorology & Graphics), North Carolina State Univ. (2019)
M.S. Applied Geological Sciences, Univ. of Alaska – Anchorage (2021)
Ph.D. Student, Astronomy, Cornell Univ. (2022 – Present)
detelich.wixsite.com
CV
ced237@cornell.edu
Charlie’s research focuses on understanding surface processes and evolution of icy moons in the outer solar system using numerical and finite element modeling. (more…)
Madeline Pettine
B.A. Astronomy, Physics, & Math, Univ. of Colorado (2021)
Ph.D. Student, Astronomy, Cornell Univ. (2021 – Present)
mmp235@cornell.edu
Madeline is currently studying volcanic hotspots on Io. Using spacecraft data from Juno and ground-based data from the IRTF (Infrared Telescope Facility), they identify and measure the flux from volcanoes on the surface of Io and use that to study how tidal heating works in the Jovian system.
Bianca Margara
B.S., Aerospace Engineering, Univ. of Pisa, Italy (2019)
M.S., Space Exploration Systems, Univ. of Leicester, UK (2021)
Ph.D. Candidate, Aerospace Engineering, Cornell Univ. (2021 – Present)
bm528@cornell.edu
Bianca is currently working on the calibration of the Mastcam-Z camera, and doing spectrophotometric studies for Mars 2020.
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Undergraduate Students
Angelina Risnoveanu
B.A. Physics, Cornell University (Anticipated 2028)
anr78@cornell.edu
Angelina is assisting with scheduling of SPIF outreach, outreach content development, website maintenance, and communications for manager Zoe Learner Ponterio.
Web Developer
Camilo Nascimento
B.F.A., UNC Charlotte (2000)
M.F.A., Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (2009)
camilographics.com
camilo@camilographics.com
Camilo is the web developer for the COMPASSE Research Group and the Spacecraft Planetary Image Facility (SPIF). Duties include custom web design and content management solutions.
Previous Research Associates
Christian Tate (2017-2023)
B.S. Mechanical Engineering (2012) & B.A. Medieval Studies (2016), Purdue University
M.A. Physics and Astronomy, Univ. of Louisville (2017)
Ph.D. in Astronomy, Cornell University (2023)
Current Status:
Imaging Scientist, Malin Space Science Systems Inc.
Maryame El Moutamid (2022-2024)
B.A. in Sciences For Engineers, Denis-Diderot University (2008)
M.S. in Dynamics of Gravitational Systems, Paris Observatory (2010)
Ph.D. in Celestial Mechanics, Paris Observatory (2013)
Current Status:
Lead Scientist, Southwest Research Institute
Léa Bonnefoy (2020-2023)
B.A. Physics with Astronomy concentration, Cornell University (2015)
Ph.D. Astronomy and Astrophysics, Paris Observatory (2020)
Current Status:
Samuel Birch (Sep 2014 - May 2020)
B.A., UC Berkley (2014)
Ph.D., Cornell Univ. (2018)
Current Status:
Assistant Professor, Brown Univ.
Marco Mastrogiuseppe (Oct 2014 - Oct 2016)
B.A., Univ. of Rome La Sapienza (2005)
M.S., Univ. of Rome La Sapienza (2008)
Ph.D., Univ. or Rome La Sapienza (2012)
Current Status:
Associate Professor at Link Campus University - Rome
Cansu Culha (Sept 2011 - Sept 2013)
Ph.D. Geophysics, Standford Univ. (2021)
Research Topic: Europa
Current Status:
Postdoctoral Scholar, University of British Columbia
Previous Staff
Current Status:
Retired
Dalia Kirshenblat (June 2018 - Aug 2020)
Research Assitant & Outreach Consultant, SPIF
B.A., Science Writing and Communications, Ithaca College (2020)
dkirshenblat@ithaca.edu
Current Status:
Senior Project Support Specialist, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Previous Graduate Students
Megan Barrington (2022-2025)
B.S., Astronomy, Colgate Univ. (2017)
Ph.D. in Earth & Atmospheric Sciences, Cornell University (2026)
Current Status:
Spacecraft Operations Specialist at University College London, ESA
Christian Tate
B.S. Mechanical Engineering (2012) & B.A. Medieval Studies (2016), Purdue Univ.
M.S. Physics and Astronomy, Univ. of Louisville (2017)
Ph.D. Astronomy, Cornell University (2023)
Research Topic: Titan’s atmosphere modeling; camera calibration of Mars2020’s Mastcam-Z; development of augmented and virtual reality from Mastcam-Z images.
Current Status:
Staff Scientist at Malin Space Science Systems
Abhinav Jindal
Ph.D. Astronomy, Cornell University (2023)
Research Topic: Surface processes and evolution of comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko.
Current Status:
Postdoctoral Fellow, Brown Univ.
Nicholas Kutsop
Ph.D. Astronomy, Cornell University (2022)
Research Topic: Geomorphology, topography, surface and interior processes of icy bodies.
Current Status:
Postdoctoral Fellow, Univ. of Idaho
Paul Corlies
Ph.D. Astronomy, Cornell University (2019)
Research Topic: Titan, Clouds and Atmospheric Dynamics
Current Status:
Senior Scientist, Spectral Sciences, Inc.
Jason Hofgartner (Jan 2013 - Dec 2015)
Ph.D. Astronomy, Cornell University (2016)
Research Topic: Titan, Liquid Environments
Current Status:
Senior Scientist, SwRI; Research Scientist, JPL
Zhimeng "ZZ" Zhang (Mar 2013 - Dec 2016)
Ph.D., Cornell Univ. (2016)
Research Topic: Microwave observations provide clues to the origin of Saturn's main rings
Current Status:
NASA Postdoctoral Program Fellow, Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Postdoctoral Scholar, California Institute of Technology
Marica Raguso (Oct 2015 - Sept 2016)
Ph.D. Student, Univ. of Rome, Sapienza (2018)
Research Topic: Cassini SAR processor and processes to "super-risolve" SAR images
Current Status:
Research Scientist, Caltech, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Previous Undergraduates
Saachi Subramaniam (2025)
B.S. Environment and Sustainability, Cornell University (Anticipated 2026)
Current Status:
Student, Cornell University
Natalia Fabiana De La Torre (June 2024 - Aug 2024)
B.S. Mechanical Engineering, Univ. of California Berkeley (Anticipated 2025)
Current Status:
Undergraduate, Univ. of California Berkeley
Yi Kai Ong (June 2024 - Aug 2024)
B.S. Mathematics and Computer Science (Anticipated 2026)
Current Status:
Graduate Student, Cornell University
Anthony Fine (June 2024 - Aug 2024)
B.S. Engineering Physics (2024)
Current Status:
Research Intern, Earth Species Project
Frank Verdi (2023-2024)
B.S., Physics, Cornell Univ. (2024)
fmv8@cornell.edu
Research Topic: Mapping and analyzing fluvial features on Saturn's moon Titan.
Katie Victor (2023)
B.S., Astrogeophysics, Colgate Univ. (Anticipated 2025)
kvictor@colgate.edu
Research Topic: Generating digital terrain models of the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
Current Status:
Roland Aristide (2022-2023)
B.A. Astronomy, Science & Technology Studies (Anticipated 2025)
rka47@cornell.edu
Research Topic: Generating digital terrain models of the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
Current Status:
Fiona Powers Özyurt (Sep 2020 - Dec 2022)
B.A., Astrophysics, Wellesley College (2022)
fpowerso@mit.edu
Current Status:
NSF Research Fellow, Maria Mitchell Observatory
Samuel Lok-Hei Wong (May 2022 - Aug 2022)
B.A. Physics, Computer Science, & Mathematics, Cornell Univ. (Anticipated 2025)
fpowerso@mit.edu
Research Topic: Optimized processing procedures to read in data taken from the Mars Perseverance rover's MastCamZ cameras.
Current Status:
Samara Imbeah (2020-2021)
B.S., Mechanical Engineering, Cornell Univ. (2021)
si235@cornell.edu
Current Status:
Mission Operations Specialist, Malin Space Science Systems Inc
Cece Thieberger (2019 - 2021)
B.S., Astronomy, Cornell Univ. (2021)
clt85@cornell.edu
Current Status:
Ph.D. Candidate, Northern Arizona University
Revati Athavale (Sep 2019 - July 2020)
B.S., Computer Science, Cornell Univ. (Anticipated 2023)
rpa46@cornell.edu
Current Status:
Samantha Moruzzi (2019 - 2020)
B.S., Science of Earth Systems, Cornell Univ. (2020)
sam466@cornell.edu
Current Status:
Ph.D. Candidate, Univ. of Arizona
Julia Miller (2018-2020)
B.A., Science of Earth Systems and Astronomy, Cornell Univ. (2020)
jwm354@cornell.edu
Current Status:
Ph.D. Candidate, Brown Univ.
Current Status:
PhD Student, Columbia University
Justin Tan (Apr 2017 - May 2020)
B.S., Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Minor in Astronomy, Cornell Univ. (Anticipated 2023)
jt779@cornell.edu
Current Status:
Terryn Jung (Sep 2019 - Mar 2020)
B.S., Computer Science, Cornell Univ. (Anticipated 2022)
tj223@cornell.edu
Current Status:
Kelly Waldvogel (May 2018 - May 2019)
B.S., Mechanical Engineering, Cornell Univ. (Anticipated 2020)
kjw96@cornell.edu
Current Status:
Lexi Neese (Dec 2018 - May 2019)
B.S., Computer Science, Astronomy minor, Cornell Univ. (2019)
aln58@cornell.edu
Current Status:
Software Engineer, Draper
Alexis Eggleston (Sep 2018 - May 2019)
B.S., Environmental Engineering, Cornell University (Anticipated 2021)
ace62@cornell.edu
Current Status:
Anjali Rajesh (Sep 2018 - May 2019)
B.S., Computer Science, Cornell University (Anticipated 2021)
ar734@cornell.edu
Current Status:
Andrew Nowak (June 2018 - Aug 2018)
B.S., Physics, Winona State Univ. (Anticipated 2019)
anowak14@winona.edu
Current Status:
Alexandra Dobbs (June 2018 - Aug 2018)
B.S., Chemistry, Fort Lewis College (Anticipated 2019)
aad246@cornell.edu
Current Status:
Current Status:
Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the National Air and Space Museum
Current Status:
Current Status:
Nick Gershfeld (Aug 2016 - May 2018)
SPIF Assistant
B.S., Mechanical Engineering, Cornell University (2020)
kg442@cornell.edu
Current Status:
Software Development Engineer, Amazon Global Robotics
John Kelland (Sep 2015 - May 2018)
M.Eng. Aerospace Engineering, Cornell University (2018)
jak374@cornell.edu
Current Status:
Consultant, Quorum Software
Jerica Huang
B.S. Computer Science, Cornell Univ. (2018)
Research Topic: Webmaster, Sagan Planet Walk
Current Status:
Undergraduate, Cornell University
Ryan de Freitas Bart (Sept 2014 - May 2017)
B.S., Electrical and Computer Engineering, Cornell Univ. (2018)
Research Topic: Mapping surface of comets and asteroids
Current Status:
Staff at Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Ian Cullings (Sept 2016 - May 2017)
B.A., Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Cornell Univ. (Anticipated 2020)
Research Topic: Mars Rover Missions
Current Status:
Undergraduate, Cornell University
Vinisha Mittal (Jan 2016 - Jan 2017)
B.S., Computer Science, Cornell Univ. (2018)
Research Topic: webmaster for the Hayes Research Group and SPIF, working in conjunction with the Ithaca Sciencecenter on the website for the Carl Sagan Planet Walk.
Current Status:
Undergraduate, Cornell University
Joseph Mullen (June 2015 - Sept 2016)
B.S., Physics, Astronomy, Mathematics, Drake University (2016)
Research Topic: Titan's dunes
Current Status:
Unknown
Roger Michaelides (Oct 2012 - May 2015)
B.A., Physics and B.A, Science of Earth Systems, Cornell Univ. (2015)
Research Topic: Terrestrial Remote Sensing
Current Status:
Assistant Professor at Washington University in St. Louis
Thomas Gautier (May 2013 - May 2015)
B.A., Physics, Cornell Univ. (2015)
M. Eng. Cornell Univ. (2016)
Current Status:
Resident at Cleveland Clinic
George D. McDonald (Feb 2013 - Aug 2014)
B.A. Physics, Cornell Univ. (2014)
Research Topic: Titan Dunes
Research Topic: Martian Atmosphere
Current Status:
Professor and Research Assistant at Portland State University
Christian Klein (June 2013 - Sept 2013)
M.S. Education (2017)
Current Status:
Secondary Educator
Previous High school Interns
Charlotte Byrne
Tabor Academy (Anticipated 2023)
Research Topic: Using landscape architecture and art to help people understand the scale of landscapes on Mars.
Current Status:
Cynthia Valdez
San Diego City College (2021)
Research Topic: Rosetta OSIRIS NAC data to analyze changes on the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
Current Status:
Peter Dohn
H.S.D., Corning Painted Post Area High School (2015)
Research Topic: SOCET Set DTMs
Current Status:
Leslie VanDeMark
H.S.D., Ithaca High School (2015)
Research Topic: Mapping channels on Titan's south pole and analyzing their drainage patterns.
Current Status:
Rishi Verma
H.S.D., Ithaca High School
Research Topic: SOCET Set DTMs
Current Status:
Previous Interns
Kylee Hereid (Jun 2016 - Sep 2015)
B.A. Multimedia Journalism, English, Simpson College (2017)
IA., Simpson College
Research Topic: Summer employee, website designer
Team Photo Albums
Trip to Death Valley National Park and Mojave Desert – View Full Gallery
Learn to Curl – View Full Gallery
