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Dr. Thomas R. Watters
Senior Scientist/Geologist
Center for Earth and Planetary Studies
National Air and Space Museum
watterst@si.edu
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Thomas R. Watters is the Senior Scientist of the Center for Earth and
Planetary Studies of the National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
He received his B.S. in Earth Science from West Chester University in
1977, his M.A. in Geology from Bryn Mawr College in 1979, and his Ph.D.
in Geology from George Washington University in 1985. He joined the staff
of the Center for Earth and Planetary Studies in 1984 as a research geologist
and served as Chairman of the Center from 1989 to 1998. Dr. Watters is
the Director of the NASA Regional Planetary Image Facility housed in CEPS
and is curator of the Museum's "Earth Today: A Digital View of our Dynamic
Planet" display.
Dr. Watters' research interests are in planetary tectonics, geophysics,
and remote sensing. His research involves the detailed characterization
of tectonic landforms using image and topographic data, and the development
of kinematic and mechanical models for their origin. Both analytical and
numerical methods are employed in mechanical modeling of tectonic features.
His research also involves geophysical modeling of tectonic stresses and
understanding the mechanical and thermal structure of deformed planetary
lithospheres. Dr. Watters has studied tectonic features on all the terrestrial
planets and the Moon, as well as analog structures on the Earth.
Dr. Watters is also involved in planetary missions. He is a Participating
Scientist on Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionospheric Sounding
(MARSIS) instrument of the Mars Express Mission. The MARSIS radar sounder
will search for evidence of bodies of subsurface water and/or ice and
reveal the structure of the shallow crust of Mars. Dr. Watters is also
involved in the MESSENGER Mission to Mercury. He is a participant in the
Geology Group of the science team and is a member of the mission's Education
and Public Outreach team. MESSENGER will provide the first global view
of Mercury, return topographic and geochemical data, and map the planet's
magnetic field. He has also participated in the planning of a possible
future mission to Mars employing a balloon.
Dr. Watters' CV
Some of Dr. Watters' Research Projects:
Development of the highland/lowland
dichotomy boundary on Mars
Topographic Mapping of Mercury
Topographic Mapping of the Moon
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