Jim Bell - Professor, Arizona State University, School of Earth and Space Exploration

About

cdreier@gmail.com — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 04:27:04 +0000

About

cdreier@gmail.com Thu, 2011-08-04 22:27

Dr. Jim Bell is a Professor in the School of Earth and Space Exploration at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona, an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Astronomy at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, and a Distinguished Visiting Scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. He received his B.S. in Planetary Science and Aeronautics from Caltech, his M.S. and Ph.D. in Geology & Geophysics from the University of Hawaii, and served as a National Research Council postdoctoral research fellow at NASA's Ames Research Center. Jim's research group primarily focuses on the geology, geochemistry, and mineralogy of planets, moons, asteroids, and comets using data obtained from telescopes and spacecraft missions.

Jim is an active planetary scientist and has been heavily involved in many NASA robotic space exploration missions, including the Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR), Mars Pathfinder, Comet Nucleus Tour, Mars Rovers Spirit, Opportunity, Curiosity, and Perseverance, Mars Odyssey Orbiter, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, and Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. Jim was the lead scientist in charge of the Panoramic camera (Pancam) color, stereoscopic imaging system on the Spirit and Opportunity rovers, is the Deputy Principal Investigator of the Mastcam camera system on the Curiosity rover, and is the Principal Investigator for the Mastcam-Z cameras on NASA's Mars-2020 rover. As a professional scientist, Jim has published 40 first-authored and more than 215 co-authored research papers in peer reviewed scientific journals, has authored or co-authored nearly 800 short abstracts and scientific conference presentations, and has co-edited or edited three scientific books for Cambridge University Press (one on the NEAR mission: "Asteroid Rendezvous"; the other two on Mars: "The Martian Surface: Composition, Mineralogy, and Physical Properties" and "Remote Compositional Analysis: Techniques for Understanding Spectroscopy, Mineralogy, and Geochemistry of Planetary Surfaces"). He has been an active user of the Hubble Space Telescope, and of a number of ground based telescopes, including several at Mauna Kea Observatory in Hawaii.

Jim is also an extremely active and prolific public communicator of science and space exploration, and was past President (2008-2020) of The Planetary Society, the world's largest public space education and advocacy organization. He is a frequent contributor to popular astronomy and science magazines like Sky & Telescope, Astronomy, and Scientific American, and to radio shows and internet blogs about astronomy and space. He has appeared on television on the NBC "Today" show, on CNN's "This American Morning," on the PBS "Newshour," and on the Discovery, National Geographic, Wall St. Journal, and History Channels. He has also written many photography-oriented books that showcase some of the most spectacular images acquired during the space program: Postcards from Mars (Dutton/Penguin, 2006), Mars 3-D (Sterling, 2008), Moon 3-D (Sterling, 2009), The Space Book (Sterling, 2013), and The Interstellar Age: Inside the 40 Year Voyager Mission (Dutton, 2015), The Earth Book (Sterling, 2019), and Hubble Legacy: 30 Years of Images and Discoveries (Sterling, 2020), Discovering Mars (Co-authored with historian William Sheehan; Univ. Arizona, 2021), and The Art of the Cosmos (Union Square, 2022). Jim has a main belt asteroid named after him (8146 Jimbell). He and teammates have received 18 NASA Group Achievement Awards for work on space missions, and he was the recipient of the 2011 Carl Sagan Medal from the American Astronomical Society, for excellence in public communication in planetary sciences.

To arrange a speaking engagement with Jim Bell, please contact the Penguin Speakers Bureau at speakersbureau@us.penguingroup.com. To see some examples of Jim's past public speaking and media appearances, check out the list here, and Jim Bell's YouTube channel.

Click on these links for copies of Jim's latest Curriculum Vita, and Publications List, and Google Scholar page.

Jim on C-SPAN BookTV

cdreier@gmail.com — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 21:46:25 +0000

Jim on C-SPAN BookTV

cdreier@gmail.com Fri, 2011-08-26 15:46

Jim is an active public speaker for both public and academic audiences, and as a member of the Penguin author's speaker's bureau, his talks cover a wide variety of space-related topics, with book talks on topics ranging from Exploring Mars with Rovers (Postcards from Mars), Viewing the Solar System in 3-D (Mars 3-D, Moon 3-D), and The Future of Space Exploration (The Space Book, The Interstellar Age), and other public-audience talks related to topics such as The Search for Life in the Universe, The Role of Science and Exploration in Society, and Building Bridges Between Engineers and Scientists. Jim would be delighted to consider sharing his passion for space exploration with your group. Please contact Jamie Knapp (jknapp@penguinrandomhouse.com) to arrange for an interview or speaking appearance.

Research Group

cdreier@gmail.com — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 07:15:20 +0000

Research Group

cdreier@gmail.com Wed, 2011-08-17 01:15

Active Research Areas:

Surface Mineralogy and Weathering History of Mars
Surface Composition and Mineralogy of the Moon
Geologic Processes on the Surfaces of Terrestrial Planets, Icy Moons, and Asteroids
Laboratory Spectroscopic and Compositional Studies of Rocks and Minerals
Spacecraft Instrument Development, Calibration, and Image/Data Processing

Click Here for Recent Bell Group Publications

Students, Postdocs, and Research Staff Members:

Doctoral or Master's Students	Year	Thesis Topic/Research Area	Current Affiliation
Benjamin Douglass	2027*	Planetary Science	ASU/SESE
Allyson Trussell	2027*	Planetary Science	ASU/SESE
Mohini Jodhpurkar	2025*	Planetary Science	ASU/SESE
Paul Horton	2024*	Exploration Systems Design	ASU/SESE
Samantha Jacob	2022	Mars Surface Mineralogy and Geology	NASA/JSC
Steven Dibb	2021	Exploration Systems Design	NASA/Ames
Hannah Kerner	2020	Exploration Systems Design	Univ. of Maryland
Jacob Adler	2019	Lunar and Martian surface geologic processes	JHU/APL
Laurence Tognetti	2019	Geomorphology and mapping of scalloped depressions on Mars
Danika Wellington	2018	Mars surface albedo changes; MSL/Mastcam multispectral imaging studies	USGS EROS Data Center
Nathan Williams	2016	Lunar surface tectonics and Mars surface composition/mineralogy	JPL/Caltech
Kristen Bennett	2016	Mars surface mineralogy and lunar pyroclastic deposits	USGS/Flagstaff
Jason Lai	2014	Mineralogical Assessment of Volcanic Edifices on Mars Using Near- and Thermal Infrared Remote Sensing	Department of Defense, Washington DC
Melissa Bunte	2013	Investigating geologic processes on icy satellites and small bodies and developing algorithms for automated science analysis onboard spacecraft	Mesa Comm. College
Ryan Anderson	2011	Thesis: "Lasers and Landing Sites: The Geomorphology, Stratigraphy, and Composition of Mars." Research on MSL Landing site assessment and laboratory calibration of LIBS spectra. Flight operations work as a MER Pancam Payload Downlink Lead.	USGS/Flagstaff
Melissa Rice	2011	Thesis: "Annals of a Former World: The Remnants of Water at Gusev Crater and Eberswalde Crater, Mars." Research on Silica- and Sulfur-rich soils and alteration at the Spirit rover landing site and the Geology of Eberswalde crater. Flight operations work as a MER Pancam Payload Downlink Lead.	Faculty, Western Washington Univ.
Briony Horgan	2010	Thesis: "Wind, Water, and the Sands of Mars." Researched the mineralogy, morphology, and weathering of Martian N. polar terrains.	Faculty, Purdue University
Jason Soderblom	2007	Thesis: "Properties of Martian Soils, Rocks, and Atmospheric Dust Derived from Analysis of Hubble Space Telescope and Mars Exploration Rover Data." Flight operations work as a MER Pancam Payload Downlink Lead.	MIT
Tim McConnochie	2007	Thesis: "Observations of the Martian Atmosphere: THEMIS-VIS Calibration, Mesopheric Clouds, and the Polar Vortex." Flight operations work on calibration of Mars Odyssey THEMIS instrument.	NASA/GSFC
Eldar Noe Dobrea	2004	Thesis: "Spectroscopic Searches for Water-Alteration Products on Mars." Research on the spectroscopy, mineralogy, and geology of Mars using HST and Mars orbital data sets. Flight operations work as a MER Pancam Payload Downlink Lead.	PSI

*Expected Date of Graduation (approximate)

Postdocs and Academic Professionals	Year*	Research Area	Current Affiliation
Jim Rice	2020	Mars surface geology; ASU NewSpace Initiative	ASU/SESE
Travis Gabriel	2018	Planetary surface and interior composition; ASU NewSpace Initiative	USGS/Flagstaff
Tanya Harrison	2017	Mars surface geology; ASU NewSpace Initiative	Planet, Inc.
Craig Hardgrove	2015	Mars surface composition; ASU NewSpace Initiative	ASU/SESE Assistant Professor
Lauren Edgar	2014	Analysis of Martian Geomorphology and Stratigraphy	Research Geologist, USGS Flagstaff Astrogeology Center
Kjartan Kinch	2006	Analysis of Martian dust optical and radiative properties	Copenhagen University
Joe Harrington	2003	Development of CONTOUR spectrometer calibration and analyis routines	University of Central Florida
Patrick Martin	1998	Analysis of NEAR/NIS infrared spectra of Eros, and VIS-NIR spectra of Mars	European Space Astronomy Centre
David Klassen	1997	Acquisition and analysis of IRTF near-IR spectral data of Mars	Professor, Rowan University

*Last year in group, if multiple years

Research Staff	Year*	Research Area	Current Affiliation
Ernest Cisneros	2015 -	Mission Operations and Science Data Center Lead	ASU/SESE
Nathan Cluff	2015 -	Lead IT/Systems Support	ASU/SESE
Kristen Paris	2015 -	MER/Pancam, MSL/Mastcam, and Mars-2020/Mastcam-Z downlink processing	ASU/SESE
Austin Godber	2016	Systems Administrator and MSL/Mastcam data reduction, calibration, and mosaicking	Private Industry
Jonathan Joseph	2012 -	Lead Programmer for MER/Pancam data reduction, calibration, and mosaicking	Cornell
Jon Proton	2012 -	MER/Pancam Payload Uplink Lead	Cornell
Emily Dean	2012 -	MER/Pancam Payload Uplink Lead	Cornell
Elaina McCartney	2011	MER/Pancam Payload Uplink Lead	MSSS
Dale Theiling	2010	MER/Pancam Payload Uplink Lead	CU/LASP
Chase Million	2007	Analysis of Mars Odyssey/THEMIS and MRO/CTX and MARCI data sets	GALEX Science Center/Caltech
Dmitry Savransky	2006	MER/Pancam Payload Uplink Lead, Payload Downlink Lead, database dev.	U.C./Berkeley
Heather Arneson	2005	MER/Pancam Payload Uplink Lead, Payload Downlink Lead, downlink proc.	NASA/Ames
Miles Johnson	2005	MER/Pancam Payload Uplink Lead, Payload Downlink Lead, database dev.	Graduate Student, U. Illinois
Min Hubbard	2005	Analysis of HST and ISO data; downlink processing of MER/Pancam images	GALEX Science Center/Caltech
Jascha Sohl-Dickstein	2005	MER/Pancam Payload Uplink Lead, Payload Downlink Lead, database dev.	Stanford

*Last year in group, if multiple years

Undergrads	Year*	Research Topic	Last Known Affiliation
Kyle Rogers	2015	Office, research aid	ASU/SESE
Stephanie Dimpfel	2015	Camera system engineering aid	ASU/SESE
Zach Burnham	2015	Student IT, programming, and/or camera calibration aid	ASU/SESE
Perry Vargas	2015	Student IT, programming, and/or camera calibration aid	ASU/SESE
Alain Holaday	2015	Office, research aid	ASU/SESE
Kelsie Crawford	2015	Student IT, programming, and/or camera calibration aid	ASU/SESE
Sarah Brooks	2015	Student IT, programming, and/or camera calibration aid	ASU/SESE
Andrew Winhold	2015	Student IT, programming, and/or camera calibration aid	ASU/SESE
T.J. Slezak	2014	Student IT, programming, and/or camera calibration aid	ASU/SESE
Liz Dyer	2014	Student IT, programming, and/or camera calibration aid	ASU/SESE
Jack Lightholder	2014	Student IT, programming, and/or camera calibration aid	ASU/SESE
Todd Gilbert	2013	Student IT, programming, and/or camera calibration aid	ASU/SESE
Bhavin Nayak	2014	Student IT, programming, and/or camera calibration aid	ASU/SESE
Nikhil Kalige	2013	Student IT, programming, and/or camera calibration aid	ASU/SESE
Anil Kuncham	2013	Student IT, programming, and/or camera calibration aid	ASU/SESE
Nathan Williams	2009	Worked on LRO tectonics targeting and Apollo Pan/Metric image analysis	ASU Graduate Student
Shianne Beer ('08)	2008	Worked as a member of the student MER/Pancam Calibration staff
Sarah Morrison ('10)	2008	Worked as a member of the student MER/Pancam Calibration staff	Cornell
Lucy Ooi ('09)	2008	Worked as a member of the student MER/Pancam Calibration staff
James Teague ('09)	2008	Worked as a member of the student MER/Pancam Calibration staff
Ashlee Wilkins ('10)	2009	Worked as a member of the student MER/Pancam Calibration staff	Cornell
Nicholas Wirth ('10)	2008	Worked as a member of the student MER/Pancam Calibration staff
Aaron Rubin ('08)	2007	Worked as a member of the student MER/Pancam Calibration staff
Janet Vertesi (Ph.D., '08)	2007	Worked as a member of the student MER/Pancam Calibration staff	Postdoc, UC Irvine
Graham Anderson ('07)	2007	Worked as a member of the student MER/Pancam Calibration staff
Lisa Grossman ('08)	2007	Worked as a member of the student MER/Pancam Calibration staff	Science Journalist, New Scientist
Diego Saenz ('08)	2007	Worked as a member of the student MER/Pancam Calibration staff
Derek Schaeffer ('07)	2007	Helped to develop data reduction and processing pipelines for the MRO/MARCI and MRO/CTX instruments; Winner of the Shelley Prize for outstanding undergraduate research in Astronomy in 2007	Graduate Student, UCLA
Alex Shapero ('06)	2006	Worked as a member of the student MER/Pancam Calibration staff
J.R. Skok ('07)	2007	Worked as a member of the student MER/Pancam Calibration staff	Graduate Student, Brown
Tom Ternquist ('08)	2007	Worked as a member of the student MER/Pancam Calibration staff
William Versfelt ('07)	2007	Worked as a member of the student MER/Pancam Calibration staff
Ben Holmes ('06)	2005	Worked as a member of the student MER/Pancam Calibration staff
Chase Million ('06)	2005	Worked as a member of the student MER/Pancam Calibration staff	GALEX Science Center/Caltech
Adam Fischman ('06)	2005	Worked as a member of the student MER/Pancam Calibration staff
Alissa Friedman ('05)	2005	Worked as a member of the student MER/Pancam Calibration staff
Alex Hayes ('03)	2005	Worked on MER/Pancam and Mini-TES stereo processing pipeline	Graduate Student, Caltech
Ben Herbert ('05)	2005	Worked as a member of the student MER/Pancam Calibration staff
Kelley Hess ('05)	2005	Worked as a member of the student MER/Pancam Calibration staff	Graduate Student, U. Wisconsin
Kristen Frazier ('07)	2005	Worked as a member of the student MER/Pancam Calibration staff
Peter Meakin ('07)	2005	Worked as a member of the student MER/Pancam Calibration staff
Dmitry Savransky ('04)	2004	Worked as a member of the student MER/Pancam Calibration staff
Alex Shih ('05)	2004	Worked as a member of the student MER/Pancam Calibration staff
Stephanie Gil ('06)	2004	Worked as a member of the student MER/Pancam Calibration staff	Faculty, Arizona State Univ.
Mike Shafer ('04)	2003	Worked on Mars Odyssey/THEMIS computer system and database
Ben Stiglitz ('06)	2003	Worked on data processing software for Mars Odyssey/THEMIS-VIS analysis
Salman Arif ('04)	2003	Worked on testing of MER/Pancam data compression software	Faculty, Univ. of Pennsylvania
Julia Sohnen ('04)	2003	Worked on MER operations planning
Yong Shin ('04)	2003	Analyzed Pancam multispectral filter calibration measurements
Matt Siegler ('03)	2003	Analyzed MER/Pancam compression algorithms and performance	Graduate Student, UCLA
Joshua Neubert ('03)	2003	Analyzed HST multispectral images of Mars
Christopher Dodd ('01)	2002	Worked on the analysis of NEAR/NIS imaging spectroscopy data
Jason Neuswanger ('02)	2001	Worked on the development of a new Department of Astronomy web site
Rick Clinite ('03)	2001	Worked on the calibration and analysis of NEAR/NIS data
David Dror ('02)	2001	Worked on calibration and analysis of ISO/SWS Mars and Deimos data
Andrew Cunningham	2000	REU, SUNY/Geneseo: Worked on Pancam mosaic software
Taqui Raza	2000	Univ. Buffalo summer intern: Worked on HST and IRTF data organization
Scott Southard ('99)	2000	Worked on HST data analysis and near-IR spectral analysis software
Ben Cichy ('00)	1999	Worked on analysis of HST imaging dataset, mapping routines
Jascha Sohl-Dickstein ('01)	1999	Worked on development of Astro 101/102 lab web pages and HST mapping	Graduate Student, UC Berkeley
Tim Glotch	2000	SpaceGrant intern, Colgate U.: Worked on analysis of HST spectroscopic data	Professor, SUNY/Stony Brook
Patrick Spann ('02)	1999	Worked on design and calibration of 2001 APEX/Pancam instrument
Jennifer Ward	1999	SpaceGrant intern, Colgate U.: Worked on Analysis of Palomar asteroid data	NASA/Ames Research Center
Elizabeth Hays ('99)	1999	Worked on archiving and organization of NEAR preflight calibration data
Richard Zentko ('99)	1998	Worked on image processing tools for IRTF Mars telescopic data
Robert Comstock	1998	REU, Central Washington U.: Worked on Analysis of HST near-IR data

*Last year in group, if multiple years