Faculty | Planetary System Science Center

Dr. Sven Bilen

Planetary Technology and Engineering

Sven Bilen is a Professor in the School of Engineering Design, Technology and Professional Programs.

Space systems design; electrodynamic-tethers; spacecraft–plasma interactions and student space hardware development.

Dr. Huanyu (Larry) Cheng

Planetary Technology and Engineering

Huanyu (Larry) Cheng is an Assistant Professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering.

Design, fabrication, and application of deformable multimodal sensors and devices.

Dr. Kenneth Davis

Planetary Atmospheres and Exospheres

Ken Davis is a Professor of Atmospheric and Climate Science in the Department of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science.

Sources and sinks of carbon dioxide and methane in the earth’s climate system.

Dr. Min Ding

Planetary Technology and Engineering

Min Ding is Bard Professor of Marketing at Smeal College of Business, and Affiliate Professor at College of Information Sciences and Technology, the Pennsylvania State University.

Visual analytics to study images and videos taken from planetary explorations.

Dr. Bradford Foley

Planetary Interiors and Surfaces

Brad Foley is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geosciences.

The evolution of the Earth and other rocky planets.

Dr. Kate Freeman

Planetary Interiors and Surfaces,
Planetary Technology and Engineering

Kate Freeman is an Evan Pugh University Professor of Geosciences in the Department of Geosciences.

Fossil molecules and their stable isotopes, the carbon cycle, microbial biogeochemistry, and the instrumentation for signatures of life on Earth and beyond.

Dr. Steven Greybush

Planetary Atmospheres and Exospheres

Steven Greybush is an Associate Professor of Meteorology in the Department of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science.

Numerical weather modeling, data assimilation, and planetary atmospheres, specifically weather on Earth and Mars.

Dr. Liz Hajek

Planetary Interiors and Surfaces

Liz Hajek is an Associate Professor of Geosciences in the Department of Geosciences.

Evolution of landscapes including autogenic processes in sedimentary systems.

Dr. Christopher H. House

Planetary Interiors and Surfaces

Christopher H. House is a Professor of Geosciences, Director of the Planetary System Science Center (PSSC), and the Director of the Pennsylvania Space Grant Consortium (PSGC).

Microbial geochemistry and biosignatures, Solar system exploration, and Astrobiology.

Dr. Tim Kane

Faculty

Timothy Kane is a Professor of Electrical Engineering in the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, College of Engineering.

Optical Remote Sensing, free-space optical communication, and imaging.

Dr. Jim Kasting

Planetary Atmospheres and Exospheres

Jim Kasting is an Evan Pugh University Professor Emeritus in the Department of Geosciences.

Planetary atmospheres and paleoclimate modeling.

Dr. Jack Langelaan

Planetary Technology and Engineering

Jack Langelaan is an Associate Professor in Aerospace Engineering.

Autonomous Flight and UAVs including the NASA Dragonfly mission to Titan.

Dr. Jennifer Macalady

Planetary Interiors and Surfaces

Jennifer Macalady is a Associate Professor of Geosciences, and Director of Penn State’s Astrobiology Research Center (ARC).

The behavior and evolution of microorganisms.

Dr. Christopher Palma

Astronomy and Planetary Science Education Research

Chris Palma, teaching professor in the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, is the associate dean for undergraduate students in the Eberly College of Science.

Astronomy and planetary science education research.

Dr. Aleksandra Radlinska

Planetary Technology and Engineering

Aleksandra Radlinska is an Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Development of binders and 3D printing processes for extraterrestrial infrastructure.

Dr. Alexander Rattner

Planetary Technology and Engineering

Alexander Rattner is the Dorothy Quiggle Career Development Professor at the College of Engineering.

Power generation and thermal management systems for extreme space and planetary environments.

Dr. Jesse Reimink

Planetary Interiors and Surfaces

Jesse Reimink is a geoscientist who studies the Precambrian evolution of the solid Earth.

Petrology, isotope geochemistry, and new mass spectrometry techniques to answer fundamental questions about the origin of terrestrial planets.

Dr. Sven Schmitz

Planetary Technology and Engineering

Sven Schmitz is an Associate Professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering.

Basic and applied research in computational fluid dynamics and wind energy.

Dr. James Tutt

Planetary Technology and Engineering

James Tutt is Assistant Research Professor in the Department of Astronomy, Eberly College of Science.

Detector development for space environments.

Dr. Julio Urbina

Planetary Technology and Engineering

Julio Urbina is an Associate Professor at the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and Electrical Engineering.

Electromagnetics, remote Sensing and Space Systems.

Dr. Shujie Wang

Planetary Interiors and Surfaces

Shujie Wang is a Assistant Professor of Geography in the Department of Geography.

Dynamics and interactions between the cryosphere and climate systems.

Dr. Darren Williams

Planetary Atmospheres and Exospheres

Darren Williams is a Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Penn State Behrend.

Climates, orbits, observable characteristics, and dynamical evolution of planets and satellites.

Dr. George Young

Planetary Atmospheres and Exospheres

George Young is a Professor of Meteorology in the Department of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science.

Buoyancy and terrain driven atmospheric flows including fronts, thunderstorms, buoyancy waves, density currents and boundary layer convection.

Dr. Tieyuan Zhu

College of Earth and Mineral Sciences

Tieyuan Zhu is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geosciences.