Overview
Hello! My name is Madeline (or Maddie, whichever you prefer) and I started my PhD at Cornell in Fall of 2021. I use she/her or they/them pronouns-- either are fine! I'm a planetary scientist with research interests inside of our Solar System.
I have a B.A. in Astronomy, Physics, and Math from University of Colorado Boulder. While I was at CU I worked in an experimental atomic physics lab for a couple of years and then quit to go look at planets. I then used a hybrid plasma simulation to model atmospheric loss from Mars-like planets to study the effect of magnetic fields on loss rates, which is the topic I wrote my undergrad honors thesis on.
My current research is on Io, which is the innermost (and my favorite) moon of Jupiter! I work with Dr. Julie Rathbun and Professor Alex Hayes imaging and measuring the flux from volcanic hotspots on Io. We use space-based data (from Juno) and ground-based data (from the IRTF) to see how much heat flow goes through volcanoes on the surface. These measurements will help constrain how tidal heating caused by the other Jovian moons is dissipated inside of Io.
In my free time I like playing D&D, knitting, painting, reading, and hanging out with my cat Pepperidge Farms!