Barbara Tewksbury, the William R. Kenan Professor of Geosciences at Hamilton College, will give a free public lecture, "Field Work on an Alien Planet: the Stunning Success of the Mars Exploration Rover Program," on Friday, April 1, at 4:10 p.m. in the Red Pit, Kirner-Johnson building at Hamilton.
Two robotic field geologists, the NASA Rovers Spirit and Opportunity, have been exploring Mars for more than a year now. The Rover program has exceeded everyone's wildest expectations, both in terms of mission duration and information returned about the fascinating and complex history of water on Mars. This lecture will present the highlights of the Mars Exploration Rover program and explore our current understanding of water on Mars.
Tewksbury had the opportunity to visit the Jet Propulsion Labs in Pasadena, Calif. twice this past summer and spend several days with the Mars Rover Operations team, sit in on the daily science and operations meetings, and get a behind-the-scenes look at how the science was done and how the Rovers were instructed to do their field work.
A member of the Hamilton College faculty since 1978, Tewksbury earned her Ph.D. in geology from the University of Colorado. Specializing in structural and planetary geology and plate tectonics, she has published papers for many journals including the Journal of Structural Geology, Geological Society of America Bulletin, and Journal of Geoscience Education. She has received many grants from the National Science Foundation to run workshops to promote reform in geoscience education and to instruct geoscience faculty in effective and innovative teaching methods in the geosciences. She was named New York State Professor of the Year Award in 1997 by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Tewksbury's current research involves investigation of deformation in Proterozoic metamorphic rocks of the Grenville Province in northern New York State. She was the president of the National Association of Geoscience Teachers and is currently the president of the American Geological Institute.
