Floyd Shockley started off his undergraduate career as a pre-med student with every intention of going to medical school. Late into his degree, he took a few courses in entomology and was immediately hooked. He went on to earn a master’s in insect-plant interactions and host plant resistance, as well as a doctoral degree in…
Chrysanthe Kapuranis
Chrysanthe Kapuranis is a local Tucson artist. She became fascinated with astronomy after coming across a group of students on campus who were observing the Moon through a telescope. Kapuranis decided to enroll in the class herself alongside her studio art classes, which kickstarted her love of astronomy and planetary art. Her piece Tactile Moon…
Christi Cummings
Although she’s only recently started doing digital artwork, Christi Cummings has loved art since she was a little kid, especially painting, watercolor and fine detail pencil work. Over the summer, she interned with a NASA-funded program for beginning engineers at Arizona State University. The internship landed her job with the program, working with finances and…
Sophia Chen
Midway through a doctoral program in physics, Sophia Chen began taking journalism classes. After earning both an undergraduate and master’s degree in physics, Chen changed her mind about pursuing a PhD and decided to follow her love of writing. She later received the AAAS Mass Media fellowship, and was hooked. Although Chen’s writing is mostly…
Derek Hoffman
Derek Hoffman, originally from Buffalo, New York, is a researcher in the University of Arizona Department of Geosciences. He has earned both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in geology. His research focuses on the evolution of the Carpathian Mountains in eastern Europe (tectonically speaking), how the mineral titanite is formed, and how chemicals found in…
Tyler Meng
Tyler Meng is a graduate student in the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory. His research focuses on debris covered glaciers, and how they can be buried by different types of rockfall. The hope for this data is to be able to compare it with satellite data from Mars, where scientists have been observing…
Sara Hammond
Sara Hammond, originally from rural Ohio, came to the University of Arizona to earn an undergraduate degree in journalism. Since then, she’s spent years reporting daily news and working in corporate communications. Hammond has written for a variety of organizations, from Raytheon, to the UA Cancer Center, to the Arizona Daily Star, to the Phoenix…
Zoe Zeszut
Zoe Zeszut always knew that her major would be in geology, planetary science or something similar. Her passion for exploring our world and the universe beyond led her to where she is now, as an analyst for the OSIRIS-REx mission. Likewise, Zeszut has always been interested in art. Submitting her some of her work, titled…
Ron Cottrell
Ron Cottrell is a retired aerospace engineer who’s now dedicating his time to being a docent at Kitt Peak National Observatory. One of his favorite hobbies is photographing the Sun with the help of a special solar telescope. After winning an award for his first entry to The Art of Planetary science, Cottrell has continued…
Leslie Hale
Leslie Hale started studying science early in her education. She attended a magnet high school for science and engineering and in college, she participated in honors program of her state university. In 1989, she graduated with a BS in geology. Since then, Hale has traded research for collections management. She now works as collection manager…
Speaking Science-ese 