My name is Mary Urquhart. (Kelly is my married name, but I don't use
that name at work). I'm a National Research Council Postdoctoral
Associate working in the Center for Mars Exploration at NASA Ames
Research Center. My research at NASA Ames involves modeling
reactions between martian rock and hot water that can produce new
types of rock. In 1999, I finished my Ph.D. in the Astrophysical
and Planetary Sciences Department at the University of Colorado in
Boulder. Between the time I finished my degree and the Fall of 2000,
I was a Caltech Postdoctoral Scholar at NASA's Jet Propulsion
Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California. While at JPL, part of my
job was working with measurements taken in a laboratory at JPL that
were designed to help us better understand the temperature
measurements which were to have been taken by the Deep Space 2/ Mars
Microprobe Mission. Basically, most of the work I have done is
computer modeling.
So what exactly is computer modeling? Well, first the scientist
needs
to understand the processes involved in the problem he or she is
trying to solve: the physics, the chemistry and sometimes even the
biology related to the problem. Next, the researcher decides what
the
important processes are. Nature is far too complicated for anyone
to
model all of the processes
involved with a particular system, even with the very best
computers.
The important processes are those that will make a significant
impact
on the result of the model. Next, the researcher uses math to
describe the processes quantitatively, in a way that the computer
can
use. Then the scientist programs these equations into a computer
using any one of many computer
languages. Once all of these steps have been completed, the
scientist
has a model for how the system he or she wants to study works. The
scientist can then experiment with the system in a way similar to
the
way he or she might experiment with a real system in a laboratory.
Computer modeling is especially useful for doing science on things
that are very big, very small, very
far away, or take a long time to change and are therefore unsuited
to
laboratory work. I have just described nearly all of planetary
science, atmospheric science and astrophysics!
My Research
In the past, I have used computer modeling to
do research involving ice in the the subsurface of Mars, the atmosphere
of Venus, the surface of the Moon and asteroids, and the possibility of
an icy greenhouse on three of Jupiter's largest moons. Right now, I am
interested in how water, gas, and rock interact to produce different
types of minerals on Mars.
Why I Do What I Do
Why I became a scientist is a very long story. One of the
most important prerequisites for being a scientist is simple curiosity. I went
into science because I wanted to understand everything I could about how the natural
world works. Some scientists are more interested in technology (like my husband)
and want to know how gadgets (things like computers, stereo speakers and other
devices) work and how to make them. Another important quality is liking to solve
problems. Most young children are naturally curious and many like to solve puzzles.
I was certainly no exception. My parents are both chemists and were in graduate
school when I was in elementary school. I learned at a very young age that curiosity
is a good thing, and that science is a life-long process of learning.
The Early Years
I didn't know exactly what I wanted to be at first. In
kindergarten I remember that I wanted to be a ballet dancer and work in a lab
like my Dad. In third grade, at Hamilton Park Elementary in Dallas, TX, I wanted
to be a biologist. When my parents were helping me make a butterfly collection,
however, I cried when I found out that a butterfly I caught had died. My father
explained the butterflies were supposed to die, which didn't make me feel any
better. I decided then that if biology involved studying dead things, it wasn't
for me.
Then in fourth grade, I started going to the planetarium
every Wednesday after school. For the first time, I had a glimpse at the wonders
of the universe. The planets, the stars, the nebulae and the galaxies all seemed
so beautiful, almost magical to me. I wished I could reach out and touch them,
and I wanted to understand them...to know why they are the way they are and how
they are related to one another. It was like a door opened for me. I had never
really realized just how much beauty and mystery existed in the universe. The
world I saw everyday took on new meaning for me, too. I began to look through
all of my parents' science books. I found I had a passion for geology, too. I
wanted to know why rocks look the way they do: particularly minerals, with all
of their different colors and crystal shapes.
After elementary school, I went to Richardson Junior High
School. I knew I wanted to be a scientist, but I still wasn't exactly sure what
type. School had been very hard for me up until that point. I have a learning
disability and had trouble learning to read (I couldn't until second grade), and
even by seventh grade, spelling and actually doing math were difficult for me.
I could understand complex math fairly easily, but when doing something as simple
as arithmetic I had trouble because my brain would mix up the numbers I saw. In
time, school became much easier. When I did learn to read, I read everything I
could. I particularly enjoyed reading science fiction and fantasy books, as well
as science books. By seventh grade I was reading my parents college text books.
With a lot of effort, I learned to compensate for many of the other problems associated
with my learning disability. I also discovered new interests such as music and
art, which made school more fun. By the time I was in high school I was in all
honors classes and on the honor roll.
High School Years
I had decided by ninth grade that I definitely wanted to
be a planetary scientist. When Voyagers 1 and 2 made their historic encounters
with Jupiter and Saturn, I had cut out all of the photos and articles from the
newspaper and saved them. Later, I went to used book stores and bought all of
the "National Geographic" magazines and others that had articles about the planets.
That year my grandparents bought me a telescope, I joined the Astronomy book club,
and then bought my first observation handbooks. I also subscribed to "Astronomy"
magazine. The next year I bought my first college-level planetary geology book
with babysitting money I had saved up. That single book, "An Introduction to Planetary
Geology" by Billy P. Glass, became my most prized possession. I still have it
today, even though I know it by heart, and a lot of the material is seriously
out of date.
I went to high school at Berkner High, once again in Richardson,
TX. My course load was designed to prepare me for college majoring in anything
from literature and history to math and science. I had four years each of math,
science (not including a semester of psychology) and English, and three years
of history. I only had time for one real elective and that was choir. As it turned
out, I am very grateful that I did have as well-rounded an education as possible
in high school. The college I chose to attend was an all-science school and very
weak in the humanities. I learned to write effectively in high school, definitely
not college. Mrs. Patton, my junior year English teacher, certainly deserves most
of the credit.
Away to College
My college, New Mexico Tech in Socorro, NM was great. It's
a small school that had about 800 undergraduate students and 400 graduate students.
Although small and very inexpensive, the education in math and science was superb.
The class sizes were small and professors taught even freshman-level classes (unusual
at many larger schools). Also, despite its small size, I found a job as an assistant
to a senior engineer at a testing facility on campus my freshman year. I also
had the opportunity to work for a year at the Array Operations Center for the
Very Large Array radio telescope, also on the campus of New Mexico Tech. During
that time my love of astrophysics grew (due in no small part to Dr. Jean Eilek,
my Advanced Astrophysics professor). I started to wonder if I wouldn't prefer
to spend my life studying galaxy formation and evolution instead of planets.
Internships are the Way to Go
Between my fourth and fifth years as an undergraduate,
I had an internship at the U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park, CA through NASA's
Planetary Geology and Geophysics Undergraduate Research Program. I was given the
amazing opportunity to be one of the first people to see and work with the images
from the Magellan spacecraft. In those images I saw a planet so much more alien
to Earth than many people had suspected, that is until Magellan's radar pierced
the thick clouds that veil the surface of Venus. The idea that a planet could
be so similar in mass and size to Earth and yet be so different geologically from
Earth was intriguing to me. I found my interest in planetary science reborn and
with it a dilemma that would follow me to graduate school.
Grad School
After graduating from New Mexico Tech with two degrees,
one in Geophysics and the other in Physics with an Astrophysics option, I went
immediately to graduate school at the University of Colorado at Boulder (CU).
I chose CU for several reasons. The first reason was location. I had been seriously
dating another student at New Mexico Tech named Sean Kelly (he's now my husband),
and since I was a year ahead of him in school, we decided that I should only apply
to schools in areas where he would have a good chance of getting a job. The second
major reason was that CU is the only major institution I found that has astrophysics
and planetary science in the same department. Since I was at a point in my career
where I wasn't ready to chose between the two fields, CU seemed ideal. I was ecstatic
when the news came in February of my final year in New Mexico that I was accepted
with full funding. I was going to my first choice of schools!
In August 1992 I began my graduate career. I took a full
course load of three graduate classes plus a seminar class the first semester.
For the first three years of graduate school I took as many planetary and astrophysics
classes as I could, in addition to basic applied physics and math methods. I found
out that one of the most important things to my success would be learning how
to effectively use the computer for computations, graphing data and model results.
Prior to that point I used computers almost exclusively for writing papers and
sending email. I also taught introductory astronomy labs for all but one of my
first six semesters, plus once during the summer. I went from being terrified
of public speaking to actually enjoying it. At the end of my third year I actually
volunteered to teach the introductory astronomy course. I had to design my curriculum,
homework, tests, and even choose the textbook. It was by far one of the most tiring
and rewarding (actually, downright fun) experiences of my life. Suddenly, a career
as a teacher seemed like a possibility.
The other great thing I was doing was attending, and eventually
leading, field trips to all sorts of wonderful places that have features related
to other planets. First was Meteor Crater in Arizona, next was Hawaii to study
volcanos, then Yellowstone National Park to study hydrothermal systems (what I'm
now doing research on was an idea born from that trip). In addition, I have led
trips to Death Valley, the Mojave Desert and Rocky Mountain National Park. To
me, these trips bring into clearer focus the similarities between our planet and
its neighbors in a way that just looking at pictures or reading papers never will.
If you can't actually go to Venus, Mars, or the Moon, why not do the next best
thing?
Personal
My second year in graduate school my fiance came to Colorado and a
year later we were married. Sean loves mountain biking, and the hills
and mountains near Boulder were great for that sport. We've been lucky
enough to live next to the mountains in both Pasadena, and now in
Santa Clara, CA. Sean also loves his job as a computer scientist and
software engineer developing systems for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory
that help scientists like me access data taken by spacecraft and ground-based
instruments. Together we enjoy hiking along beautiful mountain trails.
I also enjoy working in my patio garden, singing, and doing science
projects with kids. 
Now, just a year and a half after becoming "Dr.
Mary," we live happily with our new baby girl Ariana, and our little
black cat named Kassandra.
Why I Like What I'm Doing
The best part of my job is that I get paid to learn, and
sometimes learn something that no one before me has ever known.
Science isn't all in books, it's about discovering new things and
looking at the world in new ways. For me, it's also sharing that
experience with others. I even have my own K-12 Online Education
& Outreach Web site! If you take a look you will find several
sets of classroom-tested, standards-based materials on the topics
of Mars, Playground Physics, Saturn, Scale in the Solar System,
comets, and a new set of materials on Stars and Planets. Some of
my Mars activities were inspired by my past research.
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