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Kathleen (Katie) Grant

Photo of Kathleen (Katie) Grant

Address:

4800 Oak Grove Drive

Pasadena, CA 91109

Curriculum Vitae:

Click here

Member of:

Carbon Cycle And Ecosystems

Biography

I am an Earth Systems scientist whose research interests center on using remote sensing technologies to under the critical zone and specifically, the coevolution of ecosystems and soils. I study spatially distributed critical zone processes by combining remotely sensed data of various resolutions and wavelength regions with targeted field measurements, laboratory measurements and analyses. I’ve had the privilege to research and work across a wide range of critical zone science – everything from the tropics to temperate climates, and from the tree canopy to bedrock.

Education

  • Ph.D. in Geosciences, University of Southern California, 2025
  • B.A. in Geosciences, University of Colorado Boulder, 2016

Professional Experience

  • JPL Postdoctoral Fellow, JPL, 2025-Present
  • Graduate Researcher, USC, 2019-2025
  • Life Sciences Research Professional, Stanford, 2018-2019
  • Instructor, The Bay School, 2017-2018
  • Laboratory Technician, Carnegie Institute, 2016-2017

Community Service

  • Volunteer at the Homless Garden Project
  • Volunteer at Santisimo Sacramento’s Family to Family Program

Research Interests

geobotany, visible to shortwave infrared imaging spectroscopy, thermal infrared imaging spectroscopy, metal contamination, landscape biogeochemistry

Selected Awards

  • NASA Group Achievment Award (2023)

Selected Publications

  1. Grant, K., et al., Remote detection of plant physiological responses to metal toxicity across a complex mountainous landscape. Remote Sensing of Environment. (in prep)
  2. Grant, K., et al. Mapping global quartz and feldspar abundance and grain sizes using integrated VTIR data. AGU Advances. (in prep)
  3. Chadwick, K. D., et al., (inc. Grant, K). Unlocking Ecological Insights from Subseasonal Visible-to-Shortwave Infrared Imaging Spectroscopy: The SHIFT Campaign. Ecosphere. 2025.
  4. Thompson D. R, et al., (inc. Grant, K). On-orbit calibration and performance of the EMIT imaging spectrometer. Remote Sensing of Environment. 2024. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2023.113986
  5. Green RO, Mahowald N, Thompson DR, Ung C, Brodrick P, Pollock R, Bennett M, Lundeen S, Joyce M, Olson-Duvall W, Oaida B., et al. (inc. Grant, K). Performance and early results from the Earth surface mineral dust source investigation (EMIT) imaging spectroscopy mission. 2023 IEEE Aerospace Conference, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1109/AERO55745.2023.10115851

Projects

EMIT (Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation)