Exploring exciting new research questions with my students and colleagues is one of the most fun parts of my job, but many of these pursuits require funding–and chasing that down isn’t quite as much fun. Grant proposals take a long time and a lot of effort to prepare, and the odds of landing a grant are low, roughly on par with what it takes to be admitted as a student at Pomona College right now. So, when a grant is ‘landed’ it is a cause for celebration!

I’m therefore pleased to report that a proposal I submitted recently to NASA’s Solar System Workings program with my Lunar and Planetary Institute colleague Dr. Pat McGovern (PI), was among those selected for funding. Entitled “Breaking the barriers: Time-dependent, stress-controlled growth of large volcanoes on Venus and implications for the mechanics of magma ascent, storage, and emplacement,” the funds from this grant will allow several students to contribute to GIS- and/or numerical modeling-grounded research during the summers of 2018-2020. I’m excited to get underway with the first students in a few short weeks!

For more detail, a Pomona College press release about the grant can be found here.