Al Emran

Address:

4800 Oak Grove Drive

Pasadena, CA 91109

Curriculum Vitae:

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Website:

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Member of:

Planetary Geosciences

Biography

Emran is a planetary scientist specializing in the characterization of the surface and subsurface of terrestrial planets, small bodies, and the icy moons of gas giants in the Solar System. He is currently a postdoctoral fellow at NASA JPL, where he investigates the surfaces of Mars, Mercury, and icy bodies using orbital spacecraft data. His interdisciplinary approach combines remote sensing, spectroscopy, photometry, physical modeling, data science, machine learning, and laboratory experiments to study surface processes, geology, and composition. Emran’s research aims to uncover the dynamic interactions between planetary surfaces, atmospheres, and interiors—and how these interactions shape the habitability of planetary bodies.

Education

Ph.D. in Space and Planetary Sciences, University of Arkansas
MS in Geography [Planetary Geoscience], Auburn University
MS in Physical Geography, University of Dhaka
BS in Geography, Minor in Geology, University of Dhaka

Professional Experience

2023 ‑ JPL Postdoc Fellow, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology
2021-2022 Graduate Assistant, Data Science Program, University of Arkansas
2021 Graduate Assistant, Center for Space and Planetary Sciences, University of Arkansas
2020 Graduate Teaching Assistant, Department of Physics, University of Arkansas
2019 ‑ 2020 Graduate Assistant, Center for Space and Planetary Sciences, University of Arkansas
2017 ‑ 2019 Graduate Assistant, Department of Geosciences, Auburn University
2015 ‑ 2017 Research Assistant, Department of Architecture, BRAC University
2014 ‑ 2015 Graduate Assistant, Department of Geography & Environment, University of Dhaka

Community Service

Session Chair: Lunar and Planetary Science Conference
External reviewer : NASA’s Planetary Data Archiving, Restoration, and Tools (PDART) Proposal
Internal reviewer : JPL Proposal (Planetary Science R&A)
Journal Reviewer : Earth and Space Science; Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets; Icarus

Research Interests

Planetary Astronomy, Terrestrial Planets, Icy Bodies, Asteroids, and Exoplanets

Selected Awards

2023 Asteroid (28646) Alemran, International Astronomical Union (IAU)
2022 Outer Planets Assessment Group (OPAG) Participant Stipend, USRA/LPI
2020-22 GPSC/GSIE Travel Fellowship, University of Arkansas
2019 LPI Career Development Award, Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston, Texas
2018/19 Geoscience, COSAM, and GSC Travel Fellowship, Auburn University

Selected Publications

Mercury

Emran, A. and K. Stack. 2025. Understanding Compositional Evolution of Hollows at Dominici Crater, Mercury. Icarus, 435, 116576.

Mars

Emran, A., J.D. Tarnas, and K. M. Stack. 2025. Global distribution of Serpentine on Mars. Geophysical Research Letters 51, e2024GL110630

Emran, A., Marzen, L.J., King, D.T., Chevrier, V.F., 2020. Thermophysical and Compositional Analyses of Dunes at Hargraves Crater, Mars. Planet. Sci. J. 2(6), 218.

Emran, A., Marzen, L.J., King, D.T., 2020. Semiautomated Identification and Characterization of Dunes at Hargraves Crater, Mars. Earth and Space Science 7, e2019EA000935.

Pluto

Emran, A., Cruikshank, D. P., Ahrens, C. J., Moore, J. M., White, O. L., 2025. Kiladze Caldera: A possible Cryovolcano on Pluto. Planet. Sci. J. 6, 52.

Emran, A., Dalle Ore, C. M., Ahrens, C. J., Khan, K., Chevrier, V.F., and Cruikshank, D. P., 2023. Pluto’s Surface Mapping using Unsupervised Learning from Near‑Infrared Observations of LEISA/Ralph. Planet. Sci. J. 4(1), 15.

Emran, A., Dalle Ore, C. M., Cruikshank, D. P., and Cook, J. C., 2023. Surface Composition of Pluto’s Kiladze Area and Relationship to Cryovolcanism. Icarus 404.

TNOs and KBOs

Emran, A., Chevrier, V.F., 2023. Discrepancy in Grain Size Estimation of H2O ice in the Outer Solar System. Res. in Astronomy and Astrophysics. 23, 035015.

Emran, A., and Chevrier, V.F., 2022. Uncertainty in Grain Size Estimation of Volatiles on Trans‑Neptunian Objects and Kuiper Belt Objects. The Astronomical Journal. 163, 196.

Earth

Emran, A., Roy S., et al., 2018. Assessing topographic controls on vegetation characteristics in CHT from remotely sensed data. Rem. Sens. App.: Soc. and Env. 11, 198–208.

Emran, A., Rob M.A., Kabir M.H., 2017. Coastline change and erosion‑accretion evolution of Sandwip Island, Bangladesh. Int. Jr. of Applied Geospatial Res. 8(2):3.

Emran, A., Rob M.A., Kabir M.H, Islam M.N., 2016. Modeling spatio‑temporal shoreline and areal dynamics of coastal island using geospatial technique. Mod. Earth Sys. and Env. 2(4).

Others

A. Khuller and Emran, A. 2025. Quantitative Evaluation of the delta‑Eddington, Hapke, and Shkuratov Models for Predicting the Albedo and Inferring the Grain Radius of Ice. Icarus [In review]