Sarah T. Stewart-Mukhopadhyay is an American

planetary scientist Planetary science (or more rarely, planetology) is the scientific study of planets (including Earth), celestial bodies (such as moons, asteroids, comets) and planetary systems (in particular those of the Solar System) and the processes of their ...

known for studying

planet formation The nebular hypothesis is the most widely accepted model in the field of cosmogony to explain the formation and evolution of the Solar System (as well as other planetary systems). It suggests the Solar System is formed from gas and dust orbiting t ...

planetary geology Planetary geology, alternatively known as astrogeology or exogeology, is a planetary science discipline concerned with the geology of the celestial bodies such as the planets and their moons, asteroids, comets, and meteorites. Although the ...

, and materials science. She is a professor at the

University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The institut ...

in the Earth and Planetary Sciences Department. She was a professor at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences from 2003 to 2014. Stewart-Mukhopadhyay was named as one of the "Brilliant 10" by ''

Popular Science ''Popular Science'' (also known as ''PopSci'') is an American digital magazine carrying popular science content, which refers to articles for the general reader on science and technology subjects. ''Popular Science'' has won over 58 awards, incl ...

'' in 2010, one of "Astronomy's Rising Stars" by ''

Astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest ...

'' in 2013, and one of the "Top 100 Science Stories of 2015" in ''

Discover Discover may refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''Discover'' (album), a Cactus Jack album * ''Discover'' (magazine), an American science magazine Businesses and brands * DISCover, the ''Digital Interactive Systems Corporation'' * Di ...

''. She received an award from the

American Astronomical Society The American Astronomical Society (AAS, sometimes spoken as "double-A-S") is an American society of professional astronomers and other interested individuals, headquartered in Washington, DC. The primary objective of the AAS is to promote the adv ...

for outstanding achievements by a young scientist. She won a MacArthur "Genius" fellowship in 2018.

Education

Stewart-Mukhopadhyay received her undergraduate degree in

astrophysics Astrophysics is a science that employs the methods and principles of physics and chemistry in the study of astronomical objects and phenomena. As one of the founders of the discipline said, Astrophysics "seeks to ascertain the nature of the h ...

and

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

from Harvard in 1995. She completed her

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

at the

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

in 2002.

Career and research

Stewart-Mukhopadhyay is director of the Shock Compression Laboratory. At Caltech, she was the first to study shock propagation in ice under similar conditions found in our solar system. Her research group is interested in planetary formation, particularly with giant impacts and impact cratering. She was awarded the

Urey Prize The Harold C. Urey Prize is awarded annually by the Division for Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society. The prize recognizes and encourages outstanding achievements in planetary science by a young scientist. The prize is named af ...

in 2009. Her work on

shock Shock may refer to: Common uses Collective noun *Shock, a historic commercial term for a group of 60, see English numerals#Special names * Stook, or shock of grain, stacked sheaves Healthcare * Shock (circulatory), circulatory medical emerge ...

-induced ice melting helped to show that liquid water is the most erosive fluid currently at work on the surface of Mars. One of the tools at the Shock Compression Laboratory is a 40 mm cannon. The shock lab has been located at

UC Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The institut ...

since 2016. Her group also does experiments at the Z Machine at

Sandia National Laboratory Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), also known as Sandia, is one of three research and development laboratories of the United States Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). Headquartered in Kirtland Air Force Bas ...

to study shock-induced vaporization. Stewart-Mukhopadhyay proposed a version of the

giant impact hypothesis The giant-impact hypothesis, sometimes called the Big Splash, or the Theia Impact, suggests that the Moon formed from the ejecta of a collision between the proto-Earth and a Mars-sized planet, approximately 4.5 billion years ago, in the Hadean ...

in which an oblate Earth was slowed from a 2.3-hour long day, and allowed to become spherical, by an impact with the planet

Theia In Greek mythology, Theia (; grc, Θεία, Theía, divine, also rendered Thea or Thia), also called Euryphaessa ( grc, Εὐρυφάεσσα) "wide-shining", is one of the twelve Titans, the children of the earth goddess Gaia and the sky god ...

. In 2018 Simon J. Lock, Sarah Stewart-Mukhopadhyay, et al. hypothesized a new kind of astronomical object – a

synestia A synestia is a hypothesized rapidly spinning doughnut-shaped mass of vaporized rock. It was named by Sarah T. Stewart-Mukhopadhyay, taken from Hestia, goddess of the hearth, combined with ''syn-'' meaning together. In computer simulations of gia ...

– and proposed a new model of how the Earth and Moon were formed.

Awards and honors

* In 2018, she was awarded the MacArthur Fellowship for "advancing new theories of how celestial collisions give birth to planets and their natural satellites, such as the Earth and Moon". * In 2009, she received the American Astronomical Society's

Harold C. Urey Prize The Harold C. Urey Prize is awarded annually by the Division for Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society. The prize recognizes and encourages outstanding achievements in planetary science by a young scientist. The prize is named af ...

from the

Division for Planetary Sciences Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...

. * In 2003, she received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers. * In 2002, she began the Grove Karl Gilbert Postdoctoral Fellowship at Carnegie Institution of Washington. * In 2001, she received the Stephen E. Dwornik Planetary Geoscience Student Paper Award, Geological Society of America.

Personal life

Stewart was born in Taiwan, where her father was stationed in the Air Force. Stewart's husband, Sujoy Mukhopadhyay, is also a professor and planetary scientist at

References

External links