Department of Earth, Environmental & Planetary Sciences

New images taken from space show how dust on and around InSight is changing over time — information that can help scientists learn more about the Red Planet. “Even though we’re no longer hearing from InSight, it’s still teaching us about Mars,” said science team member Ingrid Daubar, DEEPS Associate Professor (Research). “By monitoring how much dust collects on the surface — and how much gets vacuumed away by wind and dust devils — we learn more about the wind, dust cycle, and other processes that shape the planet.”

Two new reports highlight concerns from research and non-tenure track faculty about feeling stagnated in their roles. Jim Russell, senior associate dean of the faculty and DEEPS professor, leads a group developing recommendations to support and promote equity for research faculty, emphasizing their significant contributions beyond lab work: “They’re not just doing research in labs, they’re leading really important research programs.” Ingrid Daubar, an associate research professor in DEEPS, noted her department's supportive environment and expressed her hope for improvements: “One thing I hope comes out of this process is a more uniform experience across the university, where all research faculty feel like a valued part of their communities.”

The Europa Clipper spacecraft lifted off from Cape Canaveral on October 14th to find out whether the icy ocean of Jupiter's moon is habitable. “We’ll be able to describe what that habitable environment is like,” says Associate Professor Ingrid Daubar, who works on Clipper for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California.