EDUCATION 
| B.A. | Wellesley College, Astrophysics (cum laude), December 2004 Advisor: Prof. Richard French |
| Ph.D. | Cornell University, Astronomy (expected 2011) Thesis adviser: Prof. Jim F. Bell III |
PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYMENT
| Fall 2002 - Fall 2004 | Wellesley College Physics Department, Wellesley, MA Teaching assistant and tutor for introductory physics courses. Supervisor: Prof. Glenn Stark |
| Fall 2002 - Fall 2004 | Wellesley College Whitin Observatory, Wellesley, MA Telescope operator for the 24-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain reflector. Duties involved calibrating the telescope and observing Koronis family asteroids for faculty research. Supervisor: Prof. Kim McLeod |
| Summer 2003 | University of Alaska Geophysical Institute, Fairbanks, AK NSF REU Intern in the Space Physics and Aeronomy group. Supervisor: Dr. Scott Bailey |
| Spring 2004 | Cerro Tololo Interamerican Observatory, La Serena, CHILE NSF REU Intern. Modeled the 3-D photoionization of planetary nebulae. Supervisor: Dr. Hugo Schwarz |
| April - June 2004 | Wellesley College Astronomy Department, Wellesley, MA NASA Space Grant Intern. Studied host galaxies of high redshift quasars. Supervisor: Dr. Kim McLeod |
| Summer 2004 | NAIC Arecibo Observatory, Arecibo, PR NSF REU Intern. Mapped ice features on Mercury using planetary radar. Supervisor: Dr. John Harmon |
| February-June 2005 | Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, MA Research Assistant. Studied gas kinematics in active galaxies. Supervisor: Dr. Paul Martini |
| Summer 2005 | NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA NASA Space Grant Intern. Worked with giant planet formation models. Supervisors: Dr. Jack Lissauer and Dr. Olenka Hubickyj |
| October-Nov. 2005 | NAI High Lakes 2005 Expedition, BOLIVIA Team member. Assisted studies of UV damage to microorganisms at high altitude. Supervisor: Dr. Nathalie Cabrol |
| Summer 2006 | Haughton Mars Project, Devon Island, CANADA Field Research Assistant. Studied pariglacial landforms as analogs to Martian terrain. Supervisor: Dr. Pascal Lee |
| August 2006 - Present | Cornell University Department of Astronomy, Ithaca, NY Teaching Assistant for Astronomy 101, 102, 202 and 233. Supervisors: Prof. James Lloyd, Prof. Jean-Luc Margot |
ACADEMIC HONORS
Wellesley College (2000-2004)
Three Generations Prize for Science Writing (2004)
Charles Duncan Prize in Astronomy (2004)
Massachusetts Space Grant award to support an internship at NASA Ames (Summer 2005)
Susan R. Knafel '52 Traveling Fellowship to study Mars analogs (2005-2006)
PUBLICATIONS
Johnson, J., J. Bell, E. Cloutis, M. Staid, W. Farrand, M. Rice, A. Wang, A. Yen (2007) Mineralogic Constraints on Sulfur-Rich Soils from Pancam Spectra at Gusev Crater, Mars, Journal of Geophysical Research, 34, 13 , doi:10.1029/2007GL029894 (Abstract)
Harmon, J., M. Slade, B. Butler, J. Head, M. Rice, D. Campbell (2007) Mercury: Radar Images of the Equatorial and Midlatitude Zones, Icarus, 187, 2 , 374-405 (Abstract)
Rice, Melissa S.; Martini, Paul; Greene, Jenny E.; Pogge, Richard W.; Shields, Joseph C.; Mulchaey, John S.; Regan, Michael W. (2006) Spatially Resolved Narrow-Line Region Kinematics in Active Galactic Nuclei, The Astrophysical Journal, 636 , 654-673 (Abstract)
CONFERENCES ATTENDED
Rice, M., S. Bailey, Nitric Oxide and Photoelectron Production in the Earth's Upper Atmosphere, Keck Northeast Astronomy Consortium Undergraduate Research Symposium, Wellesley, MA, 24-25 October 2003.
Rice, M., J. Harmon, Radar Imaging of Mercury. 36th Annual DPS Meeting, Louisville, KY, 8-12 November 2004.
Zahid, J., M. DeCesar, L. Kinnaman, M. Rice, K. Saucedo-McQuade, T. Ghosh, E. Momjian, C. Salter, Neutral Hydrogen in the Galaxy Cluster Abell 2390. 205th Meeting of the American Astronomical Society, San Diego, CA, 9-13 January
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