Biography
Jamie Molaro is a Research Scientist at the Planetary Science Institute and an Affiliate at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. She earned her BS in physics at San Francisco State University and her MS and PhD in planetary science at the University of Arizona.
Dr. Molaro’s research focuses on the rocky and icy material on the surfaces of airless bodies in the solar system. She studies how landscapes evolve over time on the Moon, asteroids, dwarf planets, comets, and ocean worlds like Jupiter’s moon Europa and Saturn’s moon Enceladus. She is a Sample Science team member on NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission to retrieve a sample from asteroid Bennu.
In 2013 Dr. Molaro founded “The Art of Planetary Science,” an annual art exhibition run by graduate students at the University of Arizona’s Lunar and Planetary Laboratory that celebrates the beauty of science. Her own artwork includes making “space crafts from data collected by spacecrafts” as well as unique craft projects for Dungeons & Dragons players (including D&D players like Dr. Molaro herself).
Dr. Molaro is also an advocate for disabled and chronically ill folks working in space science. She is Flight Operations co-lead for Mission: AstroAccess, a project dedicated to promoting disability inclusion in space exploration and paving the way for disabled astronauts.
Web links
Dr. Molaro’s scientific web site: https://www.jmolaro.com/
Dr. Molaro’s arts and crafts web site: https://dataarcana.com/
The Art of Planetary Science: https://www.lpl.arizona.edu/art/
Mission: Astro Access web site: https://www.astroaccess.org/
Twitter: @spacejammie
Instagram: @dataarcana
Presentation
“Exploring Other Worlds with Arts & (Space)crafts”
While still a graduate student in planetary science at the University of Arizona, Dr. Jamie Molaro founded “The Art of Planetary Science” (TAPS) – an annual series of art exhibitions that celebrate the beauty and elegance of science. TAPS features artwork created by scientists out of research data alongside works by artists that are inspired by planetary science and astronomy. In her talk Dr. Molaro will show examples of the broad variety of art showcased at TAPS, including her own unique craft work (“space crafts from data collected by spacecrafts”). Along the way she’ll give us insight into her current research on how the surfaces of airless worlds in the solar system evolve over time.