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Benjamin Byron

Photo of Benjamin Byron

Address:

4800 Oak Grove Drive

Pasadena, CA 91109

Phone:

626-379-0297

Curriculum Vitae:

Click here

Member of:

Planetary Interiors and Geophysics

Biography

Ben is a postdoctoral researcher at JPL who is investigating the thermophysical properties of the lunar surface with the Diviner Lunar Radiometer instrument onboard the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). He received a Ph.D. in Physics in 2020 from the University of Texas at San Antonio, where he performed research with the LRO Lyman Alpha Mapping Project (LAMP) team under the direction of Dr. Kurt Retherford. His dissertation focused on studying the effects space weathering and other surface processes/properties on the lunar regolith in the far-UV as observed by LRO LAMP.

Education

  • Ph.D, Physics, University of Texas at San Antonio, 2020
  • M.S., Physics, University of Texas at San Antonio, 2018
  • B.S., Physics, University of Texas at Dallas, 2014

Professional Experience

  • Postdoctoral Fellow, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 2020-present
  • Graduate Research Assistant, University of Texas at San Antonio/Southwest Research Institute, 2016-2020
  • Summer Intern, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Intern 2017
  • Undergraduate Researcher, University of Texas at Dallas, 2013-2014

Research Interests

Ultraviolet - Infrared Remote Sensing, Lunar Space Weathering, Regolith Surface/Subsurface Properties

Selected Publications

  1. Byron, B. D., Elder, C. M., Williams, J.-P., Ghent, R. R., Gallinger, C. L., Hayne, P. O., & Paige, D. A. (2022). Thermophysical Properties of Lunar Irregular Mare Patches from LRO Diviner Radiometer Data. Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, 127, https://doi.org/10.1029/2022JE007214
  2. Magaña, L. O., Retherford, K. D., Byron, B. D., Hendrix, A. R., Grava, C., Mandt, K. E., et al. (2022). LRO‐LAMP Survey of Lunar South Pole Cold Traps: Implication for the Presence of Condensed H2O. Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, e2022JE007301.
  3. Byron, B. D., Retherford, K. D., Czajka, E., Cahill, J. T. S., Hendrix, A. R., & Greathouse, T. K. (2021). Lunar Surface Composition Constraints from Maturity-Corrected Far-Ultraviolet Reflectance Maps. The Planetary Science Journal, 2(5), 189. https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ac1d53
  4. Byron, B. D., Retherford, K. D., Greathouse, T. K., Wyrick, D., Cahill, J. T. S., Hendrix, A. R., et al. (2020). Far-UV Observations of Lunar Rayed Craters with LRO-LAMP. Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, 125. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JE006269
  5. Byron, B. D., Retherford, K. D., Greathouse, T. K., Mandt, K. E., Hendrix, A. R., Poston, M. J., ... & Mazarico, E. (2019). Effects of Space Weathering and Porosity on the Far‐UV Reflectance of Amundsen Crater. Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, 124(3), 823-836. https://doi.org/10.1029/2018JE005908​
  6. Hue, V., Gladstone, G. R., Greathouse, T. K., Kammer, J. A., Davis, M. W., Bonfond, B., Versteeg, M. H., Grodent, D. C., Gérard, J.‐C., Bolton, S. J., Levin, S. M., & Byron, B. D. (2019). In‐flight characterization and calibration of the Juno‐ultraviolet spectrograph (Juno‐UVS). The Astronomical Journal, 157, 90