NATURAL SCIENCES - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Physics and Astronomy / Physics and Astronomy
The idea of life elsewhere in the universe captivates us. For this reason, researchers have long sought to identify which planets outside the solar system might have suitable conditions for housing life.
The problem? "They think there's at least one planet for every star in the sky," explained Rice physics and astronomy graduate student Alison Farrish. This makes narrowing them down to the ones that could sustain life as we know it a challenging feat. The traditional definition of a habitable planet has focused on the so-called Goldilocks Zone of temperatures that are neither too hot nor too cold to maintain liquid water on a planet's surface. "But that's not the whole picture," said Farrish.
Farrish's research focuses on characterizing the habitability of exoplanets based on the magnetic properties of the star-planet system by modeling magnetic flux at the surface of the star. "Even though you have an extremely large-scale field that interacting with all the planets, it's anchored at the flux emerging from the solar surface," said Farrish.
Farrish's simulations provide deeper insight into the habitability of exoplanets by combining basic principles of plasma physics and magnetic fields, models of the sun, and observations about how other stars differ from the sun. "A lot of the Earth-sized planets that you see around small stars must be extremely close in to reach a warm enough temperature, and if the planet is close enough, it's basically magnetically connected to the star," said Farrish.
Job Titles:
- Physics and Astronomy / Physics and Astronomy
What happens when it gets cold? And by cold, I mean about -459°F cold. At low enough temperatures, matter behaves in fundamentally different ways. By studying atoms at just fractions above absolute zero, Joshua Hill of Dr. Thomas Killian's research group is shedding light on basic laws of nature. Joshua believes his research will allow physicists to model the behavior of strange materials, and unlock the secret of superconductors.
Job Titles:
- Systems Integration and Test Engineer
Job Titles:
- Senior Partner at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
Job Titles:
- Sales Director and Business Leadership Director
What happens when it gets cold? And by cold, I mean about -459°F cold. At low enough temperatures, matter behaves in fundamentally different ways. By studying atoms at just fractions above absolute zero, Joshua Hill of Dr. Thomas Killian's research group is shedding light on basic laws of nature. Joshua believes his research will allow physicists to model the behavior of strange materials, and unlock the secret of superconductors.
Alumna Emily Schultz '18 recently graduated with a Ph.D. in the Ecology & Evolutionary Biology program within the Department of BioSciences. As a graduate student in Dr. Tom Miller's lab, Emily conducted research on lifeforms she found most fascinating: species that can survive in extreme climates (high-elevation pine) and weeds (invasive thistle).