CPSH Travel Grant Sends 11 Students to LPSC
March 24, 2022
From sharing research to making cross-campus connections, the UT travel grant helped students get the most out of this year’s Lunar and Planetary Science Conference.
On the last day of the 53rd Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, the largest planetary science conference in the U.S., Emily Bamber looked back on a busy but satisfying week in Houston. Like many others participating, this was Bamber’s first in-person conference since before 2020, so she made the most of the opportunity to connect with peers and mentors.
“It felt incredibly rewarding,” said Bamber, a graduate student at UT Jackson School of Geosciences. “I definitely made some important connections, learnt about some amazing topics, and was able to share my research with peers and experts alike.”
She and 10 other students were able to attend the conference thanks to a student grant offered by the UT Center for Planetary Systems Habitability.
The grant helped cover most of the cost of attending LPSC and was offered to UT Austin students at all levels. According to Bamber, who helped organize travel and accommodation for the grant recipients, the grant also helped bring UT planetary science students together. Before the conference, many had never met in person, but now students working on problems as diverse as icy moons or cave bacteria had an opportunity to mingle.
“I think [the CPSH Student Travel Grant] has helped build a stronger network of UT planetary science student peers,” she said. “We were able to share and learn about each others’ research, talk about our backgrounds and identities, and learn so much more about each other.”
It was amazing to get to see and catch up with peers and colleagues in person again. I’m incredibly grateful to CPSH for supporting our group to attend!
Emily Bamber, Graduate Student
I would like to thank the CPSH committee for not only providing the funding but also for unifying the aspiring planetary scientists from UT.
Mohammad Afzal Shadab, graduate student
Thank you CPSH for helping me present my research IN PERSON for the first time in over two years! It was so nice seeing everyone again.
Natalie Wolfenbarger, Graduate Student
Students in this year’s cohort were;
- Emily Bamber, graduate student, UT Jackson School of Geosciences
- Michelle Tebolt, graduate student, UT Jackson School of Geosciences
- Mohammad Afzal Shadab, graduate student, UT Oden Institute for Computational Engineering & Sciences
- Jialong Ren, graduate student, UT Jackson School of Geosciences
- Carole Lakrout, undergraduate student, UT Jackson School of Geosciences
- Natalie Wolfenbarger, graduate student, UT Jackson School of Geosciences
- Russell Miller, graduate student, UT Jackson School of Geosciences
- Evan Carnahan, graduate student, UT Jackson School of Geosciences
- Eric Hiatt, graduate student, UT Jackson School of Geosciences
- London Darce, undergraduate student, UT Jackson School of Geosciences
- Naoma McCall, graduate student, UT Jackson School of Geosciences
