+ G'day!

Welcome to my website. I am a postdoctoral researcher studying at the NASA Ames Research Center in Moffett Field California, sponsored by the SETI Institute in Mountain View, California. My fields of research include Mars, astrobiology and remote sensing. On this website you'll find an introduction to my research, including some of my research papers and projects.

My current research focuses on the analysis of data from the Mars instrument "CRISM" which is onboard the Mars Reconaissance Orbiter (Mister Oh). My CRISM releated research page is here.

For the CRISM project, I am helping select and analyse data from the North and South Poles of Mars. I am working with other researchers to identify sulfate minerals in the soils of Mars. These may be important because they may hold the history of past water on Mars.

In order to identify sulfate minerals, I am writing a program in Java, called "MR PRISM", to enable users to analyse the CRISM dataset as it is returned for significant spectral features.

Spectral analysis involves understanding the way light interacts with solid surfaces. To understand how sulfates interact with light, I am using quantum chemistry computer programs to predict vibrational spectra of sulfate minerals.

I recently finished my PhD studies at the Australian Centre for Astrobiology. If you are interested in my PhD research on hyperspectral mapping of ancient hydrothermal systems in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, you will find the web site, and many linked resources, here.

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