Grady Robbins

Hello! I'm a Geological Sciences PhD student in the School of Earth and Space Exploration at ASU as well as a 2026 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow.

My primary project, advised by Prof. Jim Bell, focuses on utilizing in-situ data from the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover to interpret the mineralogy & geochemistry of rocks and soils in Jezero crater, Mars. 

My second project is advised by Prof. Margaret Landis and entails modeling & mapping the stratigraphy of regolith produced as a product of impact gardening at the Lunar-VISE landing site, the Gruithuisen Gamma Dome on the Moon.

Other active projects:

• Studying Europa impact ejecta dynamics under multiple gravitational forces (the Three-Body Effect) in preparation for the Europa Clipper Surface DUst Analyzer instrument.
• Characterizing the mineralogy & geochemistry of terrestrial basalts for use in agricultural soil amendments as a fertilizer replacement and to sequester atmospheric carbon.

Previous projects:

• Interpreted near-Infrared spectra of brown dwarfs to discern temperature, size, metallicity, and atmospheric content. Characterized two L-dwarfs and one Y-dwarf.
• Conducted 2D and 3D simulations of protoplanetary disk gas structures to model the formation and evolution of planetary systems, employing Python and JupyterHub.