Education:

• Brown University, PhD Geological Sciences, May 2004
• Brown University, ScM Geological Sciences, May 2000
• University of Minnesota, B. S. Geology, March 1998

Teaching Experience:

• T. A. GE022 - Physical Geology, Brown University, Fall 98, Fall 00
• T. A. Geo 1001 - Intro Geology, University of Minnesota, Fall 97

Employment:

• Sept 2010 - present, research scientist at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt MD
  • Working on space weathering-related issues utilizing TEM and other electron microscopy techniques.

• Sept 2010 - present, program scientist at NASA Headquarters, Washington DC
  • Moon Mars Analog Mission Activites (MMAMA) Disipline Scientist
  • Executive Secretary for the PSS ad hoc committe on Planetary SR&T

• Feb 2009 - Sept 2010, research scientist at University of Alabama Huntsville / Marshall Space Flight Center.
  • Project Scientist for the Lunar Mapping and Modeling Project.
  • Working on space weathering-related issues utilizing TEM and other electron microscopy techniques.

• Jan 2008 - Jan 2009, NASA Postdoctoral Management Fellow at NASA Headquarters in DC
  • Working as a Lunar Program Scientist in the Planetary Sciences Division of the Science Mission Directorate.

• Dec 2005 - Nov 2007, NASA Postdoctoral Fellow (what used to be called an NRC postdoc) at Johnson Space Center with Dr. Lindsay Keller.
  • Working on space weathering-related issues utilizing TEM and other electron microscopy techniques.

• Sept 2004 - November 2005, GSA Congressional Science Fellow
  • Worked as a congressional staffer with the democratic staff of the House Committee on Science
  • Prepared memos, did budget analysis and oversight, wrote speeches, drafted legislation, assisted with the committee website overhaul
  • Articles published in GSA Today:
    • Greetings from Capitol Hill! GSA Today, v. 15, no. 3 (March 2005)
    • U.S. Space Policy: Where are we going, and why are we in this hand basket- I mean - space shuttle? GSA Today, v. 15, no. 8 (August 2005)
    • A Category 5 Adventure GSA Today, v. 15, no. 12 (December 2005)
    • Back to Academia: Lessons learned from a year on the Hill GSA Today, v. 16, no. 3 (March 2006)

Current Research Interests:

I study space weathering (what is space weathering?) and the ways in which space weathering affects the visible/nearIR spectra of soil. Space weathering affects all bodies which are not protected by an atmosphere. I have been studying lunar soils for a while now to understand the processes involved in space weathering. The Moon is a great place to start because we actually have samples from the Moon to study. Beyond that I am also trying to apply this knowledge to the asteroids and Mercury to understand how space weathering on these bodies will be similar/ different than on the Moon. Why do we care about space weathering? Because until we have samples in hand of the rest of the Moon and Mercury and the asteroids (well, we have meteorites, but we don't know which asteroids they come from) our information must come from remote methods (satellites, rovers, telescopic data, etc.). Space weathering processes create the soil that covers the surface of these bodies and alters its properties. Therefore, if we want to understand the data that we recieve from these remote methods, we must understand the weathering processes.

Selected Publications:

Noble S. K., Keller L. P, and Pieters C. M. (2011) Evidence of space weathering in regolith breccias II: Asteroidal regolith breccias. Meteoritics & Planetary Science Vol 45, issue 12, 2007–2015.

Kramer G., Combe J., Harnett E., Hawke B. R., Noble S., Blewett D., McCord T., and Giguere T. (2010) Characterization of Lunar Swirls and Basalts at Mare Ingenii: A Model for Space Weathering at Magnetic Anomalies. JGR, submitted.

Noble S. K. (2010) Examining the Uppermost Surface of the Lunar Regolith. LPSCXLI, Abstract #1505. Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston

Mendell W. W. and Noble S. K. (2010) The Epiregolith. LPSCXLI, Abstract #1348. Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston

Domingue D. L., Vilas F., Noble S. K., Blewett D. T., Denevi B. W., Helbert J., Holsclaw G. M., Izenberg N. R., Sprague A. L. (2009 Processes Affecting Mercury's Spectrum and COlor: Space Weathering. Abstracts to the Workshop on the Surface COmposition of Mercury from UV-Vis-IR. University of Parma, Italy.

Noble S. K. (2009) The Uppermost Surface of Lunar Soil. Abstract, NLSI Lunar Science Forum, Mountain View CA.

Christoffersen R., Lindsay J. F., Noble S. K., Meador M. A., Kosmo J. J., Lawrence J. A., Brostoff L., Young A., McCue T. (2009) Lunar Dust Effects on Spacesuit Systems Insights from the Apollo Spacesuits. NASA Technical Publication #34951.

Pieters, C. M., Klima R., Hiroi T., Dyar M. D., Lane M. D., Treiman A. H., Noble S. K., Sunshine J., and Bishop J. (2008), Martian dunite NWA 2737: Integrated spectroscopic analyses of brown olivine, J. Geophys. Res., 113, XXXXXX, doi:10.1029/2007JE002939

Lucey, P. G. and Noble S. K. (2008) Experimental Test of a Radiative Transfer Model of the Optical Effects of Space Weathering. Icarus, doi: 10.1016/j.icarus.2008.05.008.

Noble S. K., Pieters C. M., Keller L. P. (2007) An Experimental Approach to Understanding the Optical Effects of Space Weathering. Icarus, 192, 629-642.

Noble S. K., Keller L. P., and Pieters C. M. (2007) The Uppermost Surface of the Moon: A Study of the Ap16 Clam Shell Samples. Eos Trans. AGU, 88(52), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract P44A-06.

Noble S. K. and Keller L. P. (2007) Space Weathering of Lunar Rock 76015. 2007 GSA Denver Annual Meeting (28–31 October 2007) Abstract #209-28.

Noble S. K., Keller L. P. and Stroud, R. (2007) Probing the Depths of Space Weathering: A Cross-Sectional view of Lunar Rock 76015. LPSCXXXVIII, Abstract #1359. Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston (CD-ROM).

Treiman, A. H., Dyar M. D., McCanta M., Noble S. K., and Pieters, C. M. (2006) Martian Dunite NWA 2737: Petrographic Constraints on Geological History, Shock Events, and Olivine Color. J. Geophys. Res., doi 10.1029/2006JE002777.

Noble, S. K., C. M. Pieters, T. Hiroi, and L. A. Taylor (2006) Using the modified Gaussian model to extract quantitative data from lunar soils, J. Geophys. Res., 111, E11009, doi:10.1029/2006JE002721. Abstract

Noble S. K. and Lindsay J. F. (2006) From another planet: Exploring the health effects of lunar soil and the challenges of communicating across diciplines. GSA Annual Meeting, Philidelphia PA.

Noble S. K., Keller L. P. and Chrisofferson R. (2006) Nanometer-scale Chemical Mapping of Space Weathered Lunar Soil: A New View. LPSCXXXVII, Abstract #1819. Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston (CD-ROM).

Noble S. K., Pieters C. M.and Hiroi T. (2005) Extracting Quantitative Data from Lunar Soil Spectra. LPSCXXXVI, Abstract #1255. Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston (CD-ROM).

Noble S. K., Keller L. P and Pieters C. M. (2005) Evidence of space weathering in regolith breccias I: Lunar regolith breccias. Meteoritics and Planetary Science, 40, 397-408.

Noble S. K. (2004) Turning Rock Into Regolith: The Physical and Optical Effects of Space Weathering in the Inner Solar System. Ph.D. Thesis.

Noble S. K. Pieters, C. M.and Keller L. P. (2004) Quantitative Aspects of Space Weathering: Implications for Regolith Breccia Meteorites and Asteroids. LPSCXXXV, Abstract #1301. Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston (CD-ROM).

Noble S. K., Keller L. P. and Pieters, C. M. (2003) Preservation of Space Weathering Products in Regolith Breccias. MetSoc2003, Munster, Germany. Meteoritics and Planetary Science, 38, 7, A56.

Noble S. K. and Pieters, C. M. (2002) The Optical Effects of Space Weathering Products on Silicate Surfaces. Eos Trans. AGU, 83 (47), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract P61A-0339.

Noble S. K. Pieters, C. M.and Keller L. P. (2003) The Optical Properties of Nanophase Iron: Investigation of a Space Weathering Analog. LPSCXXXIV, Abstract #1172. Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston (CD-ROM).

Noble S. K. Keller L. P.and Pieters, C. M. (2003) Making a Regolith Breccia. LPSCXXXIV, Abstract #1626. Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston (CD-ROM).

Noble S. K. and Pieters, C. M. (2003) Space Weathering on Mercury: Implications for Remote Sensing. Astronomicheskij Vestinik, 37, 34-39. (An english version is available in Solar System Research, 37, 31-35)

Noble S. K. and Pieters, C. M. (2002) Space Weathering Processes on Mercury. Solar System Remote Sensing Conf. Abstract #4005. Pittsburgh, PA.

Noble S. K. Keller L. P.and Pieters, C. M. (2002) Understanding and Identifying Space Weathering Products in Regolith Breccias. MetSoc2002, Los Angeles CA. Meteoritics and Planetary Science, 37, 7, A110.

Noble S. K. Pieters, C. M.and Keller L. P. (2001) Can Space Weathering Survive Lithification? Results of a TEM Study of Lunar Regolith Breccia 10068. LPSCXXXIII, Abstract #1334. Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston.

Noble S. K. and Pieters, C. M. (2001) Space Weathering in the Mercurian Environment. Mercury: Space Environment, Surface, and Interior. Abstract #8012. Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston.

Noble S. K. and Pieters, C. M. (2001) Type 2 Terrain: Compositional Constraints on the Martian Lowlands. LPSCXXXII, Abstract #1230. Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston (CD-ROM).

Noble S. K., Pieters C. M., Taylor L. A., Morris R. V., Allen C. C., McKay, D. S. and Keller L. P. (2001) The Optical Properties of the Finest Fraction of Lunar Soil: Implications for Space Weathering. Meteoritics and Planetary Science, 36, 31-42. Abstract

Pieters C. M., Taylor L. A., Noble S. K., Keller L. P., Hapke, B., Morris R. V., Allen C. C., McKay, D. S. and Wentworth, S. J. (2000) Space weathering on airless bodies: Resolving a mystery with lunar samples. Meteoritics and Planetary Science, 35, 1101-1107. Abstract

Noble S. K. and Pieters C. M. (2000) Maturity indices in Lunar soil. Abstracts to New View of the Moon III, Oct 12-15 2000, LPI, Houston TX.

Hiroi T., Pieters C. M. and Noble, S. K. (2000) Improved Scheme of Modified Gaussian Deconvolution for Reflectance Spectra of Lunar Soils. LPSCXXXI, Abstract #1548. Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston (CD-ROM).

Noble S. K., Pieters C. M., Taylor L. A., Morris R. V., Allen C. C., McKay, D. S. and Keller L. P. (2000) Optical Properties of the Finest Fraction of Lunar Soil: Implications for Space Weathering Environments. LPSCXXXI, Abstract #1810. Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston (CD-ROM).

Noble S. K., Pieters C. M., Hiroi T., Taylor L. A., Morris R. V., Keller L. P., McKay, D. S. and Wentworth S. (2000) Initial Results of MGM analysis on Apollo 17 Soil Suite. LPSCXXXI, Abstract #1880. Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston (CD-ROM).

Noble S. K., Pieters C. M., Taylor L., Keller L., Morris R., McKay, D. and Wentworth S. (1999) The Optical Properties of the Finest Fraction of Lunar Soils: Initial Results and Implications for Weathering Processes. LPSCXXX, Abstract #1669. Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston (CD-ROM).

Noble S. K., Lofgren G. E. (1998) Melting Histories of Chondrule Precursor Aggregates in UOC's. LPSCXXIX, Abstract #1442. Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston (CD-ROM).

Last updated: 1/23/11

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