I co-lead the Origins and Habitability Laboratory at JPL. Visit our website for more details about our research, lab news, and facilities. 

Interested in an internship? I take several summer interns each year, but also prefer year-round interns who work part time while going to school. I typically fill my summer intern positions in the fall (October - November), and it is not unusual for people to contact me more than a year in advance. If interested, email me and tell me about your research interests and why you want to work with me in particular. 

Below are the OHL lab members currently working on projects that I supervise. 

Erika is completing her Master's degree in Environmental Engineering at CSU Los Angeles, and has a Bachelor's in Chemical Engineering from Cal Poly Pomona. She is working on prebiotic organic synthesis and phosphorus absorption in hydrothermal systems.

Sarah is a Master’s student in Geology at Kansas State University, interested in laser spectroscopy, spatial geochemistry, and mineralogy. She is working with the OHL on deconvoluting the geochemical signatures of metastable minerals relevant for life in Mars and ocean floor environments using LIBS and Raman.

Laura Rodriguez earned her B.S. in Geochemistry at Rice University before obtaining her Ph.D. in Geosciences and Astrobiology at Penn State. Laura is a JPL Postdoctoral Researcher working on hydrothermal vent geochemistry, phosphorus chemistry in planetary systems, and is part of the INVADER vent exploration project.

Tess is a second year biology Ph.D. student at Caltech. She studies the origin of metabolism, particularly reactions of simple organic molecules with minerals in ocean world analog environments, and is interested in possible metabolisms that might exist on ocean worlds.

Medha is pursuing a BS in Environmental Sciences at the University of Virginia. She is working with the OHL and Prof. Yuk Yung (Caltech) on carbon reduction reactions in planetary environments, relating to understanding methane on Mars and prebiotic chemistry in early Earth settings.

Jessica Weber earned her Ph.D. in Chemistry from MIT and a B.S. in Chemistry from U of Chicago. Jessica is a JPL Postdoctoral Researcher exploring how protein cofactors behave under early Earth conditions.

Eduardo is a Master’s student in Civil Engineering at Cal State LA. He is working with us on making simulated hydrothermal vent chimneys in the lab, and studying nitrate and phosphate adsorption on iron hydroxides.

Rachel completed her BA in Earth Science at Columbia University studying organic molecules in fault rocks and completed her PhD in Earth & Planetary Science at Brown University studying how water-bearing minerals record aqueous conditions on Earth and Mars. She is a postdoc working on redox gradients in the martian subsurface, and is a member of the MSL science team.