People

The Ehlmann lab spans the options in Caltech’s Geological & Planetary Sciences Division.

Interested in joining the Ehlmann lab?

We are not actively seeking new personnel right now. We keep a moderate size so that each person gets the attention they need.
Postdoctoral scholars: See opportunities across the GPS Division here.
Graduate students: Graduate students apply in December to a GPS Division Ph.D. option and work with two faculty their first year prior to selection of an advisor(s) (see GPS graduate program FAQ). We are not presently in active recruiting mode but do review all applications received and make option-level admissions decisions in conjunction with other faculty.
Undergraduate students: For those Caltech or PCC students interested in lunar science or mission operations, we have a Lunar Trailblazer internship, offered termly (announced on the mission twitter). Caltech has WAVE/SURF programs for summer interns but the Ehlmann lab is not taking students in 2024.

Faculty

Professor Bethany Ehlmann
Professor of Planetary Science
Professor Ehlmann's research focuses on the mineralogy and chemistry of planetary surfaces, remote sensing techniques and instruments, astrobiology, and science policy and outreach.
Biography >>

Staff

Joshua Garcia-Kimble
Schmidt Scholar
Joshua Garcia-Kimble (he/him) grew up in Long Beach, CA, and graduated with a B.S. in Computer Science from Harvey Mudd College in 2024. His work focuses on expanding the capabilities of the WISER software and making it more efficient to run.

Jasper Miura
Mission Research & Communications Specialist
Jasper Miura (he/him) joined the Ehlmann lab after completing his B.Sc. in inorganic geochemistry at Brown University in 2019. His current project uses imaging spectroscopy to study Martian meteorite spectral diversity. His work also consists of brand design, web design, and general graphic design for the Lunar Trailblazer mission.
[Website]

Postdoctoral Scholars

Dr. Oscar Kamps
Postdoctoral Scholar Research Associate in Planetary Science
Oscar Kamps has held positions at various universities in the Netherlands, specializing in geological remote sensing with a focus on planetary sciences and mining applications. As a postdoctoral researcher, Oscar is currently engaged in analyzing global analysis of hydrated minerals on Mars using CRISM data and conducting multi-temporal analysis of EMIT data. His research interests center on exploring the potential and limitations of infrared spectroscopy for mineralogical analysis.

Dr. Amanda Steckel
Postdoctoral Scholar Research Associate in Planetary Science
Amanda Steckel (she/her) has a BS (2014) and MEng (2015) from Cornell University in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, and a PhD (2024) in Geological Sciences from the University of Colorado Boulder. Her research interests include developing techniques to investigate the habitability potential of Mars, icy moons, and beyond. She is currently working with Mastcam-Z on the Perseverance rover and hyperspectral remote sensing.
[Website]

Graduate Students

Samantha Baker
Graduate Student
Samantha Baker (she/her/hers) graduated from the University of Chicago in 2021 with a B.S. in Geophysical Sciences. In her current research, she uses spectral data to understand the aqueous history of Mars through the examination of silicate weathering. Her broad research interests include exploring planetary surface processes through the lenses of geochemistry and geomorphology.

Jordan Chastain
Graduate Student
Jordan Chastain (she/her) grew up in Tampa, Florida, and graduated from UC Berkeley in 2024 with her B.S. in Chemical Biology and a minor in Earth & Planetary Science. She is broadly interested in planetary habitability, biosignature detection, and prebiotic chemistry. Her current research investigates the influence of water-rock interactions on biology and various planetary processes to inform discussions of habitability parameters.

Valeria Kachmar
Graduate Student
Valeria Kachmar (she/her) graduated with a B.Sc. in Physics from RUDN University, Russia, in 2021. Before joining the Ehlmann lab in 2022, she worked on microwave experiments to simulate the lunar dust exosphere in the lab. Currently, she is modeling reflectance spectra of water-ice deposits on the Moon, trying to understand how different ice scenarios would manifest themselves in remote sensing data.

Oak Kanine
Graduate Student
Oak (they/them/theirs) graduated from Dartmouth College in [the fateful year of] 2020 with A.B.s in Earth Science and Native American Studies. Their broad research interests include Martian paleoclimate; the development of a generalized model of planetary evolution through comparative planetary science; and questions of habitability. Their current work focuses on Martian geomorphology and the history of liquid water on Mars, as well as Martian landscape evolution through dry processes such as rockfall.

Abigail Keebler
Graduate Student
Abigail Keebler grew up in southeastern Pennsylvania and graduated from West Chester University of Pennsylvania in 2021 with her B.S. in Geoscience-Geology and minors in Physics and Mathematics. Abigail is interested in planetary surface processes on terrestrial planets and rocky moons. Currently, she is using spectroscopy to constrain the mineralogy of atmospheric dust on Earth.

William Lawrence
Graduate Student
Will Lawrence is from Toronto, Canada and graduated from Yale in 2022 with a B.Sc. in Chemistry and Earth & Planetary Sciences. His current research involves the spectral characterization of primitive meteorites (carbonaceous chondrites) and how it may be used to elucidate processes that occurred on parent body asteroids. He is generally interested in the application of remote sensing to space exploration, as well as the distribution and evolution of organic matter and volatile compounds in the solar system.

Jessica Mueller
Graduate Student
Jessica grew up in Nampa, Idaho, and graduated from Boise State University with a B.S. in Geosciences in 2021. She is broadly interested in the isotopic and mineral evolution of the solar system. In her current research, she is creating a robust framework of spectral data from calcium-aluminum-rich inclusions (CAIs) that will better inform the interpretations of remote sensing data.

Yu Yu Phua
Graduate Student
Yu Yu Phua graduated from the University of Tokyo in 2021 with a M.S. in Materials Science. She is interested in studying planetary chemistry involving H₂O through laboratory experiments. Currently, she is working on the detection threshold for H₂O spectral signatures.

Alumni

Dr. Rebecca Greenberger (postdoc 2015-2017, lab manager and research scientist 2017-2025) -now Research Scientist, The Aerospace Corporation
Erin Pimentel (MS 2024) -now Product Engineering Writer II, Esri
Mma Ikwut-Ukwa (MS 2023)
Dr. Sergio Parra (PhD 2025) -now Consultant, BDG Consulting Group in Los Angeles
Dr. Andrew Annex (postdoc 2022-2024) -now Research Scientist, SETI
Dr. Lucia Mandon (postdoc 2022-2023) -now Postdoc, Institut de Planétologie et d'Astrophysique de Grenoble
Dr. Eva Scheller (PhD 2022) –now 51 Pegasi b Postdoctoral Fellow, MIT
Dr. Kevin Roback (PhD 2021) –now Research Staff Member, Institute for Defense Analyses
Brandon Rasmussen (MS 2020) –now Researcher, Planet
Dr. Nathan Stein (PhD 2020) –now Senior Machine Learning Engineer, Epirus
Dr. Ellen Leask (PhD 2020) –now Postdoctoral Scholar, Applied Physics Lab
Dr. William Rapin (postdoc 2017-2020) –now CNRS Research Scientist, Université de Toulouse
Dr. Peter Martin (PhD 2020) –now Associate Data Scientist II, KoBold Metals
Dr. Dana Anderson (PhD 2020) –now Assistant Professor, US Naval Academy
Dr. Valerie Fox (postdoc 2017-2019) –now Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Minnesota
Dr. Nancy Thomas (PhD 2019) –now Director, Image Processing and Software, BlackSky
Dr. Elena Amador (postdoc 2017-2019) –now Systems Engineer on MSL Science Operations Team, JPL
Dr. Peter Buhler (PhD 2018) –now Research Scientist, Planetary Science Institute
Dr. Jennifer Buz (PhD 2018) –now Principal Remote Sensing Scientist, Orbital Sidekick
Dr. Daven Quinn (PhD 2018) –now Research Scientist, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Dr. Mathieu Lapôtre (PhD 2017) –now Assistant Professor, Stanford University
Dr. Lu Pan (PhD 2017) –now Assistant Professor of Planetary Science, University of Science and Technology of China
Dr. Abigail Fraeman (postdoc 2014-2016) –now Research Scientist at JPL
Dr. Christopher Edwards (postdoc 2012-2015) –now Associate Professor, Northern Arizona University
Dr. Cedric Pilorget (postdoc 2012-2014) –now Research Faculty, IAS-Orsay

Current and Former Interns

Rory Knight (MIT ’24; co-advised with Rebecca Greenberger)
César León Jr. (Columbia University ’24; co-advised with Rebecca Greenberger; now graduate student at Washington University in St. Louis)
Kenzie Mounir (Washington University in St. Louis ’25; co-advised with Rebecca Greenberger)
Belinda Blakley (Pasadena City College; now graduate student at Johns Hopkins University)
Claire Blaske (Arizona State University ’23; co-advised with Rebecca Greenberger; now graduate student at Stanford University)
Amy Wang (Cornell ’23; co-advised with Rebecca Greenberger)
Sahil Azad (Caltech ’25; co-advised with Rebecca Greenberger)
Andy Sun (Caltech ’24)
Riley Tam (Caltech ’24; co-advised with Jay Dickson)
Marcos Perez (Caltech ’23)
Molly Crotteau (Caltech ’21; co-advised with Rebecca Greenberger; now graduate student at UC Santa Barbara)
Ethan Ordentlich (Caltech ’21; co-advised with Rebecca Greenberger)
Lauren Suezaki (Caltech ’21, now electrical engineer at Northrop Grumman)
Elise Cutts (Caltech ’19; now American Association for the Advancement of Science Mass Media Fellow)
Geraint Northwood-Smith (Cambridge ’17; co-advised with Abigail Fraeman; now graduate student at Imperial College London, planetary science)
Cauê Borlina (U. Michigan ’16; now Postdoctoral Fellow at Johns Hopkins University)
Eyjolfur Gudmundsson (U. Reykjavik ’13; now research fellow at University College London, medical image computing)
Bryne Hadnott (Washington University in St. Louis ’13; now Data Curator and Storyteller at Stanford University)
Cecilia Sanders (Harvard ’16; co-advised with Glenn Sellar (JPL); now postdoc at Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History)
David Smith (Troy High School, ’13)
Jade Wang (Caltech ’15)