Melissa Rice, PhD
She/Her/Hers, Professor
About
Dr. Melissa Rice is an Associate Professor of Planetary Science at Western Washington University, where she has held a joint appointment in the Geology Department and the Physics & Astronomy Department since 2014. She received her Ph.D. from the Department of Astronomy at Cornell University in 2012, and was a NASA Astrobiology Institute Postdoctoral fellow at Caltech from 2012-2014. Her research focuses on the sedimentology, stratigraphy and mineralogy of Mars. She is a collaborator on the active Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity missions, a Participating Scientist on the Mars Science Laboratory rover mission, and a Co-Investigator for the Mastcam-Z investigation in development for the Mars2020 rover mission.
Educational & Professional Experience:
Ph.D. - Cornell University (2012)
B.A. - Wellesley College (2005)
Areas of Expertise
Planetary geology; remote sensing; robotic space exploration
Courses Taught
- GEOL 211: Physical Geology
- GEOL 445/545: Planetary Geology
- GEOL 497H/597H: Remote Sensing of Earth and Planetary Surfaces
- GEOL 497K/597K: Science Communication (cross-listed with PHYS 497: Science Communication)
- ASTR 113: Stars, Moons and Planets
- ASTR 315: The Solar System
- HNRS 101: The Big Picture (co-taught with professors across the university)
- ASTR 497: Classic Papers in Planetary Astrophysics (coming in Winter 2019!)