Sarah T. Stewart
John L. Loeb Associate Professor of the Natural SciencesCo-Director of Undergraduate Studies in EPS
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences
Harvard University
Planetary Science at Harvard
Research
- An Impactor Origin for Lunar Magnetic Anomalies
Mark Wieczorek, Ben Weiss, and Sarah Stewart propose that the intense magnetic anomalies on the Moon are derived from the projectile that formed the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) basin, the largest definitive impact structure in the solar system.
Movie of the formation of SPA
Moonstruck Magnetism
Science Podcast - 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. Shock wave experiments to simulate collisions in the solar system. more
- Laser shock experiments.
Laser-driven shocks can reach higher pressure-temperature states than gas gun experiments. Using the Janus laser at the Jupiter Laser Facility, graduate student Rick Kraus and colleagues measured the temperature of quartz upon release from megabar shocks to search for the critical point of SiO2. more
Highlights
- Resources for other
researchers
New: Planetary Collision Calculator
More on the new collision outcome model - Animations and graphics of planetary collisions
- Current Science careers profile, April 2011.
- Congratulations to Rick Kraus for a 2010 AGU Outstanding Student Paper Award and a 2011 LPI Career Development Award for his work on the liquid-vapor curve of silica.
- Papers and Presentations
Articles sorted by date or by topic
Slides from selected lectures - More about Sarah
Biography
In the news
Education
-
2011
-2012
EPS 99r Senior Thesis Tutorial -
Fall
2011
EPS 290 Scientific Communication -
Spring
2012
EPS 121 Terrestrial Planets - NOVA: Finding Life Beyond Earth
Sarah's research is featured in this special two-hour NOVA episode. Watch online.
Taken with Rick Kraus's iphone.