Alumni

Graduate student alumni of the GALE Lab group can take their degrees in many directions. Where are these former students now? 

Taylor Dorn – PhD 2023

Taylor Dorn completed his PhD at UCLA in 2023 with wide-ranging research interests focusing on sedimentary processes on Earth and Mars. In his dissertation, entitled “The Transport, Accumulation, and Abrasive Capacity of Sediment in Aeolian Dominated Landscapes on Earth and Mars”, Taylor combined field work, remote sensing, and experimental studies to answer the many unknowns in this diverse research field. Aside from research, while at UCLA Taylor was also involved in student leadership as an officer in the Earth, Planetary, and Space Science Student Organization (EPSSSO) and involved in the ‘Letters to a Pre-Scientist’ program that allows middle school students a more accessible and personal view of science. Prior to joining the GALE lab he received his Master’s degree in Geology at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and a Bachelor’s degree in Physical Geography at Texas State University. After graduating UCLA, Taylor joined Front Range Community College as a tenure-track professor in GIS. More of Taylor’s work can be found at tdgeology.com

Dorn, T., and M. Day, “Exploring the transition between water-and wind-dominated landscapes in Deep Springs, California, as an analog for transitioning landscapes on Mars,” Earth Surface Dynamics11(2), (2023), 149-165. https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-11-149-2023

Dorn, T., and M. Day, “Intracrater sediment trapping and transport in Arabia Terra, Mars.” Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets 125.9 (2020): e2020JE006581. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JE006581

M. Day and T. Dorn, “Wind in Jezero crater,” Geophysical Research Letters, 46, (2019), pp.3099– 3107. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL082218


Jordan Bretzfelder

Jordan Bretzfelder is pursuing her PhD in Geology. She completed her B.S. in Physics at the University of Southern California in 2019. Prior to joining Professor Day’s GALE lab, and concurrent with her studies at USC, she spent three years researching the lunar mantle at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. Her interest in Planetary Sciences began with a summer spent mapping surface features on Europa for the Center for Earth and Planetary Sciences

In 2018 Jordan received the Stephen E. Dwornik award at the 49th Lunar and Planetary Sciences Conference in Houston for an oral presentation of her Lunar mantle research. Though her previous work relied heavily on remote-sensing and spectral data, she is excited about the laboratory experiments and field work she will undertake as a member of the GALE lab. 

At USC Jordan conducted high school outreach projects and she looks forward to the opportunities to encourage and uplift other underrepresented students in STEAM while contributing to an inclusive community in planetary science.

Bretzfelder, J. M., Klima, R. L., Greenhagen, B. T., Buczkowski, D. L., Petro, N. E., & Day, M. (2020). “Identification of Potential Mantle Rocks Around the Lunar Imbrium Basin.” Geophysical Research Letters 47.22 (2020): e2020GL090334. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GL090334

Bretzfelder, J. M., & Day, M. (2021). “Alien aeolian bedforms: A comparative sedimentary analysis of the Dingo Gap bedform and Hidden Valley ripple traverses, Gale crater, Mars.” Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, 126, e2021JE006904. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JE006904

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