Sarah T. Stewart
Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences
Harvard University
Planetary Science at Harvard
Research
- Collisions in the Solar System
Sarah's research focuses on the formation and evolution of planetary bodies. Her primary techniques are shock wave experiments and numerical simulations of planetary collisions.
more - Shock Compression Laboratory
A Harvard facility to simulate collisions in the solar system. - Z Experiments
Sandia's Z Machine can launch flyer plates up to 40 km/s. Sarah's group is part of a Fundamental Science User Experiment on Z to study shock-induced vaporization of MgO and Fe. - Laser Experiments
Laser-driven shocks can reach higher pressure-temperature states than gas gun experiments. Using the Janus laser at the LLNL Jupiter Laser Facility, graduate student Rick Kraus and collaborators have studied shock-induced vaporization and the growth of Richtmyer-Meshkov instabilities. - Papers and Presentations
Articles sorted by date or by topic
Slides from selected lectures - Resources for other
researchers
→ Planetary Collision Calculator
→ Analytic collision outcome model
→ Animations and graphics of planetary collisions
Highlights
- Congratulations!
To Dr. Rick Kraus for completing his Ph.D. and for the 2013 SCCM Student Award "for fundamental contributions to understanding the thermodynamic properties of minerals and shock processes in geologic materials". Rick will give a plenary lecture at the joint SCCM-AIRAPT meeting.
To Matt Newmann for finishing his undergraduate thesis on building a "Heating System for Emissivity Measurements" and winning the best thesis presentation award in Engineering Sciences. - New
-- Planet Formation
Results from the 2013 LPSC:
→ Why is the Moon devolatilized, but not Mercury, if both formed by giant impacts?
→ Why are the atmospheres of terrestrial planets so different? - New -- The Origin of the Moon
Matija Ćuk and I propose a new model for the formation of the Moon.
More info & animations
- More about Sarah
Biography
Current Science careers profile
In the news
Education
-
2012
-2013
EPS 99r Senior Thesis Tutorial -
Fall
2012
EPS 290 Scientific Communication -
Spring
2013
EPS 250r Topics in Planetary Sciences: Dynamic Compression -
Spring
2013
Freshman Seminar 22k Guns, Germs, and Stellar Wobble: The Search for Life in the Universe - New -- Astronomy's
Rising Stars
Sarah is profiled in the July 2013 issue of Astronomy Magazine. (PDF) - NOVA: Finding Life Beyond Earth
Sarah's research is featured in this special two-hour NOVA episode. Watch online. - Labs that go Boom
The Shock Compression Laboratory is featured in the September 2012 issue of Popular Science.