I am interested in how planets and satellites have evolved to their current states, and what explains the spectacular planetary diversity we see. For instance, why do the Earth and Ganymede possess magnetic fields at the present day, while Venus and Europa do not? Why is tiny Enceladus geologically active, while its neighbour Mimas is dormant? To answer questions like this requires a combination of spacecraft observations and geophysical models.
I am spending a lot of my time using observations of icy bodies to work out their current state and history. For instance, the ridges that we see on Europa, Triton and Enceladus might be a consequence of back-and-forth motion driven by tides. Likewise, the large extensional faults we see on Pluto may be a consequence of its having a refreezing ocean beneath the surface. As a member of four instrument teams on NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft, I am excited to see how new observations will improve our understanding of this particularly interesting moon.