Michelle Thompson

Associate Professor

mthompson@purdue.edu
Curriculum Vitae
Associated website(s):

Google Scholar , Lab Website , Planetary Sciences

Education

2016 PhD, Planetary Sciences, University of Arizona
2013 MS, Planetary Sciences, University of Arizona
2011 BS, Geological Engineering, first class honors, Queen's University
2011 BS, Biology, with distinctions, Queen's University

Research Interests
I am interested in understanding the alteration of planetary materials after their formation, specifically the evolution of airless body surfaces. I study these phenomena using a combination of experimental techniques and returned sample analyses. I use advanced transmission electron microscopy methods, including experimental in situ techniques to answer my research questions. This work is directly applicable to samples already returned by the Apollo and Hayabusa missions, and is relevant for the upcoming OSIRIS-REx and Hayabusa2 missions.

Selected Honors

2017 NASA Early Career Fellowship
2016 Geological Society of America Dwornik Student Paper Award, Lunar and Planetary Science Conference
2016 Joseph Goldstein Scholar Award from the Microanalysis Society
2014 Lunar and Planetary Institute Career Development Award

Publications

Thompson, M.S. , Keller, L.P., Christofferson, R., Loeffler, M.J., Morris, R.V., and Rahman, Z. 2018. Spectral and chemical effects of simulated space weathering of the Murchison CM2 carbonaceous chondrite. Icarus (in preparation)
Miller, K.E., Lauretta, D.S., Berger, E.L., Thompson, M.S. , Zega, T.J., and Jackson, K. 2018. Formation of Copper Sulfides in the R Chondrites. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta (in preparation).
Thompson, M.S. , Zega, T.J., and Howe, J.Y. 2017. In situ experimental formation and growth of Fe nanoparticles and vesicles in lunar soil. Meteoritics and Planetary Science . 52 : 413-427 (Cover).
Thompson, M.S. , Zega, T.J., Becerra, P., Keane, J.T., and Byrne, S. 2016a. The Oxidation State of Nanophase Fe Particles in Lunar Soil: Implications for Space Weathering. Meteoritics and Planetary Science 51 : 1082-1095.
Bolser, D., Zega, T.J., Asaduzzaman, A., Bringuier, S., Simon, S., Grossman, L., Thompson, M.S., and Domanik, K.J. 2016. Microstructural analysis of Wark-Lovering Rims in the Allende and Axtell CV3 chondrites: Implications for high-temperature nebular processes. Meteoritics and Planetary Science 51 : 743-756.
Thompson, M.S., Christofferson, R., Zega, T.J., and Keller, L.P. 2014. Microchemical and structural evidence for space weathering in soils from asteroid Itokawa. Earth, Planets and Space 66 :89.