Samuel Howell
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4800 Oak Grove Drive
M/S 183-301
Curriculum Vitae:
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Planetary Interiors and GeophysicsBiography
Dr. Samuel Howell is an Ocean Worlds Scientist engaged in the study and exploration of potentially habitable environments and life beyond Earth. His work focuses on understanding the processes that make the deep, hidden oceans of our solar system's icy moons potentially habitable, and guiding the development and testing of technologies to explore them.
Within the Planetary Interiors and Geophysics group at NASA JPL, Dr. Howell supports the exploration of Ocean Worlds as Project Staff Scientist on the Europa Clipper mission. He further leads science development for multiple future concepts to enable planetary ice shell and ocean access.
Samuel is the Principal Investigator of the NASA-funded ORCAA analogue mission, which will conduct access a subglacial lake in the Juneau Icefield with a planetary “cryobot” to simulate a potential future mission to Europa. Additionally, he is lead scientist for JPL's PRIME cryobot concept, CryoComm through-ice communications system, and NASA’s SWIM technology concept for planetary ocean exploration. He has led polar expeditions in support of these projects to demonstrate technologies on Earth that someday might fly to the outer solar system. He has additionally explored the Earth's oceans, from equator to poles, aboard scientific research vessels using remote imaging and geophysical techniques.
Samuel obtained his B.S. in Engineering Physics from the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology with a concentration in Mechanical Engineering and minor in Thermal Fluid Mechanics. He obtained his M.S. and PhD in Geology and Geophysics University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, where he explored planetary-scale process through studies of local surface features. His research on Earth, the first-discovered Ocean World, garnered national attention, including a 2016 Popular Mechanics Breakthrough Award for innovation detecting and predicting motions on the San Andreas Fault.
Dr. Howell has broadly shared the excitement surrounding the search for life within our solar system in documentary and broadcast news media, radio interviews in local, state, and national broadcasts, various podcasts and live streams, and numerous print and online news outlets.
Education
PhD 2016 Geology and Geophysics, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Honolulu, Hawaiʻi
MS 2013 Geology and Geophysics, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Honolulu, Hawaiʻi
BS 2010 Engineering Physics, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Terre Haute, Indiana
Professional Experience
PROFESSIONAL POSITIONS
(2019 – Pres.) Research Scientist, Ocean Worlds Strategic Hire, Planetary Interiors and Geophysics, JPL
(2019 – Pres.) Project Staff Scientist, NASA Europa Clipper Mission
(2018 – Pres.) Steering Committee, Network for Ocean Worlds (NOW), NASA Astrobiology Program
(2018 – 2019) JPL Postdoctoral Fellow, Ocean Worlds, JPL
(2016 – 2018) Caltech Postdoctoral Scholar, Planetary Chemistry and Astrobiology, JPL/Caltech
(2017 – 2019) Project Science Affiliate, Europa Clipper Science Team
FUNDED PROJECTS (PI = Principal Investigator, Co-I = Co-Investigator)
PI (2022-2026) ORCAA: Ocean Worlds Reconnaissance of Astrobiological Analogues, NASA PSTAR
PI (2023-2025) How many cracks does it take to get to the ocean of Enceladus? JPL TRTD
PI (2021-2025) Europa’s Icy Tectonics: First-Principles and High-Order Modeling, SSW
Co-I (2022-2024) SWIM - Sensing with Independent Microswimmers, NIAC Phase II
Co-I (2021-2024) Thermal Measurements of Icy Europan Analog Materials, NASA SSW
Co-I (2021-2024) Enabling through deep-ice communication on Europa (CryoComm), NASA COLDTech.
Co-I (2020-2024) Did Solid Tides Prevent the Thermodynamic Death of Europa? NASA Habitable Worlds.
Co-I (2020-2024) Compositions of Ice Shells on Ocean Worlds, NASA Solar System Workings.
Co-I (2020-2021) SWIM - Sensing with Independent Microswimmers, NIAC Phase I
Co-I (2019-2023) Search for Life Using Submersible Heated Drill (SLUSH), NASA SESAME
D-PI (2019-2021) Probe Using Radioisotopes for Icy Moons Exploration (PRIME), JPL NEXT
SELECTED ACTIVITIES
(2024) Primary Convener, Planetary Ocean Access: A Near-term Path to Extant Life Detection, AbSciCon
(2024) Convener, Accessing Ocean Worlds: Challenges and Technologies, AbsciCon
(2023) Primary Convener, Ocean Worlds and Search for Life, American Geophys. Union Fall Meeting (AGU)
(2022) Session Co-chair, Ocean Worlds and Icy Volcanism, Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC)
(2022) Primary Convener, The diverse Ocean Worlds, Astrobiology Science Conference (AbSciCon)
(2022) Co-convener, Ocean Science for Ocean Worlds, Ocean Sciences Meeting (OSM)
(2021) Program Committee, 52nd Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC)
(2021) Primary Convener, Special Session on The Next Two Decades of Ocean Worlds Exploration (LPSC)
(2020) Co-convener, Icy Satellite Surfaces and Below, AAS Division of Planetary Sciences (DPS) Meeting
(2020) Study Scientist, Radioisotope Power Systems for Pressure Vessels, NASA RPS Program
(2020) Selected Participant, NASA Principal Investigator Launchpad (Mission-focused). NASA SMD
(2019) Study Scientist, Radioisotope Power System Considerations for Ocean Worlds, NASA RPS Program
(2017) Subject Matter Expert, Accessing Subsurf. Oceans of Icy Worlds, Keck Institute for Space Studies (KISS)
Research Interests
Samuel’s current and proposed research places studies of planetary interiors into the context of the search for life. Active research interests include the mechanisms and timescales of ocean world energy transport, material mixing, and evolution, as well as the exchange of materials between interior oceans and outer ice shells.
Selected Awards
(2024) Voyager Award for leading COLDTech field demonstration of through-ice communications, JPL
(2024) Voyager Award for Europa Clipper Phase E internal funding program (Work-MoRE), JPL
(2023) Voyager Team Award for Europa Clipper Strategic Science Plan development, JPL
(2022) Voyager Award for Europa Clipper science visualization tool development, JPL
(2021) Voyager Award for Europa Clipper Lecture Series, JPL
(2021) Team Award for contributions to the Decadal Survey in Planetary Science and Astrobiology, JPL
(2017) Outstanding Postdoctoral Research in Planetary Science and Life Detection, JPL
(2016) Popular Mechanics Breakthrough Award for innovative method to study San Andreas Fault motions
Selected Publications
Pappalardo et al., incl. S. Howell (2024, in prod.). Ganymede’s Geology, in Ganymede, Cambridge Press.
Pappalardo et al., incl. S. Howell (2024). Science Overview of the Europa Clipper Mission. Space Sci Rev., doi: 10.1007/s11214-024-01070-5.
Schroeder et al., incl. S. Howell (2024). Constraining the Thickness of the Conductive Portion of Europa's Ice Shell Using Sparse Radar Echoes. Geophys Res Lett (GRL), doi:10.1029/2024GL110635.
Becker et al., incl. S. Howell (2024). Exploring the Composition of Europa with the upcoming Europa Clipper mission. Space Sci Rev., doi:10.1007/s11214-024-01069-y.
Howell, S., C. J. Bierson, K. Kalousová, E. J. Leonard, G. Steinbrügge, N. Wolfenbarger (2024). Jupiter’s Ocean Worlds: Dynamic Ices and the Search for Life, in Ices in the Solar System, Elsevier, ISBN:9780323993241, doi:10.1016/B978-0-323-99324-1.00003-1.
Lee et al., incl. S. Howell (2024). Through-Ice Acoustic Communication for Ocean Worlds Exploration. Sensors, doi:10.3390/s24092776.
Bar-Cohen et al., incl S. Howell (2024). Acoustics and RF communication through deep ice for application to ocean worlds exploration. SPIE Smart Structures, doi:10.1117/12.3023942.
Howell, S., E. J. Leonard (2023). Ocean Worlds: Interior Processes and Physical Environments. In Handbook of Space Resources. Springer. ISBN:9783030979126, doi:10.1007/978-3-030-97913-3_26.
Schaler et al., incl. S. Howell (2024). Design and Development of SWIM–Miniature Underwater Robots for Exploring Ice-Ocean Interfaces. IEEE Aerospace, 2194 (5.0501).
Daubar et al., incl. S. Howell (2024). Planned Geological Investigations of the Europa Clipper Mission. Space Sci Rev 220, 18. doi:10.1007/s11214-023-01036-z.
Roberts et al., incl. S. Howell (2023). Exploring the Interior of Europa with the Europa Clipper. Space Sci Rev 219, 46. doi:10.1007/s11214-023-00990-y.
Becker et al., incl. S. Howell (2024). Exploring the Composition of Europa with the upcoming Europa Clipper mission. Space Sci Rev., doi:10.1007/s11214-024-01069-y.
Vance et al., incl. S. Howell (2023). Investigating Europa’s Habitability with the Europa Clipper. Space Sci Rev 219, 81. doi:10.1007/s11214-023-01025-2
Naseem, M., Neveu, M., Howell, S., Lesage, E., Daswani, M. M., & Vance, S. D. (2023). Salt Distribution from Freezing Intrusions in Ice Shells on Ocean Worlds: Application to Europa. PSJ, doi:10.3847/PSJ/ace5a2.
Mills, M. M. et al., incl. Howell, S. M. (2023). Moonquake-triggered mass wasting processes on icy satellites. Icarus, doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2023.115534.
Howell, S. (2022), The likely thickness of Europa’s icy shell. PSJ, doi:10.3847/PSJ/abfe10.
Lesage, E., H. Massol, S. Howell, F, Schmidt. (2022). Viscoelastic deformation of freezing cryomagma reservoirs: Application to Europa. The Planetary Science Journal.
Leonard, E. J., S. Howell et al. (2022). Finding order in chaos: Quantitative predictors of chaos terrain morphology on Europa. Geophysical Research Letters, doi:10.1029/2021GL097309.
DiNicola, M., S. Howell, et al. (2022). Resurfacing: An Approach to Planetary Protection for Geologically Active Ocean Worlds. The Planetary Science Journal, doi:10.3847/PSJ/ac642d.
Howell, S.., et al. (2021). Ocean Worlds Exploration and the Search for Life, Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, doi:10.3847/25c2cfeb.8920f9ae.
Ermakov et al., incl. S. Howell, (2021). A Recipe for the Geophysical Exploration of Enceladus, The Planetary Science Journal, doi:10.3847/PSJ/ac06d2.
Bairstow, B. Y. Lee, S. Howell, B. Donitz, M. Choukroun, S. Perl (2021). Thermal Analysis of Landers using Radioisotope Power Systems on Ice Worlds, IEEE, doi:10.1109/AERO50100.2021.9438303.
Howell, S., R. T. Pappalardo (2020). NASA’s Europa Clipper—a mission to a potentially habitable ocean world? Nature Communications, doi:10.1038/s41467-020-15160-9.
Zacny, K. et al., incl. S. Howell (2020). Extraterrestrial Drilling and Excavation, in Advances in Terrestrial and Extraterrestrial Drilling: Ground, Ice, and Underwater, CRC Press, ISBN 9781138341500.
Howell, S., R.T. Pappalardo (2019). Can Earth-like plate tectonics occur in the outer ice shells of icy satellites? Icarus, doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2019.01.011.
Howell, S., J-A. Olive, G. Ito. M. D. Behn, J. Escartin, B. Kaus (2019), Seafloor expression of oceanic detachment faults reflects gradients in mid-ocean ridge magma supply, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2019.04.001.
Howell, S., L. Chou, 18 others (2018). Centaur reconnaissance mission concept: Chariklo flyby and impact, Planetary and Space Science, doi:10.1016/j.pss.2018.07.008.
Howell, S., R.T. Pappalardo (2018). Band formation and ocean-surface interaction on Europa and Ganymede, Geophysical Research Letters, doi:10.1029/2018GL077594.
Howell, S., B. Smith-Konter, N. Frazier, X. Tong, D. Sandwell (2016). The vertical fingerprint of earthquake cycle loading in Southern California, Nature Geoscience, doi:10.1038/ngeo2741.
Howell, S., G. Ito, M. D. Behn, F. Martinez, J.-A. Olive, and J. Escartín (2016), Magmatic and tectonic extension at the Chile Ridge: Evidence for mantle controls on ridge segmentation, Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst., doi:10.1002/2016GC006380.
Olive, J.-A., M. D. Behn, G. Ito, W. R. Buck, J. Escartín, S. Howell (2015), Sensitivity of seafloor bathymetry to climate-driven fluctuations in mid-ocean ridge magma supply, Science, doi:10.1126/science.aad0715.
Howell, S., G. Ito, A.J. Breivik, A. Rai, R. Mjelde, B. Hanan, K. Sayit, P. Vogt (2014), The origin of the asymmetry in the Iceland hotspot along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge from continental breakup to present-day, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2014.02.020.