Popular science writing

Blog articles written for ANSMET (2013-2014):
Stardust from meteorites
Surviving in the field..
Life’s good but not fair
We’re still here – the latest from McMurdo
McMurdo at last!

Public talks and demonstrations

Organized a meteorite sample exhibit for Halloween Art & Nature Festival, Organized by Atelier de la Nature, Arnaudville, Louisiana (October 2022)

Organized a meteorite and Apollo samples exhibit for Science Day at the University of Louisiana Lafayette that had an attendance of 800-1000 high-school students from neighboring parishes (September 2015, October 2018, November 2019, October 2022)

Gave a webinar “Space Rocks and Stardust” to an audience of all ages organized by Spaceport India Foundation (February 2021) 

Spoke with a Lafayette-area homeschooled children’s book club about Neil DeGrasse Tyson’s Astrophysics for Young People. Also discussed planetary science and meteorites (August 2020)

Skype a Scientist sessions: 

• Girl Scout troop earning “Space Science Adventurer” badges, Richmond, VA (May 2020) – Astrophysics and Solar System Q&A
• Campbell County Middle School (6^th grade), Gillette, WY (December 2019) – Astrophysics and Solar System Q&A and a short talk about stardust                                                                            

Talked to high school students at the Ovey Comeaux High School about STEM careers, meteorites, and Apollo lunar samples and held a meteorite show and tell session (November 2019)

Organized a local event for International Observe the Moon Night in collaboration with the Lafayette Natural History Museum and Astronomy club (September 2015, October 2018, 2019)

Invited to speak about exploration and introduce the film “Space to Explore” by Katherine DuBois at a screening of the Wild and Scenic Film Festival organized by the Citizen’s Climate Lobby, Hammond, Louisiana chapter (October 2019)

Held a meteorite and Apollo lunar sample show and tell session at a joint Lafayette Geological Society, Society of Petroleum Engineers (Lafayette chapter), and the American Association of Drilling Engineers (Lafayette chapter) luncheon meeting at the Petroleum Clubof Lafayette, Louisiana (November 2019)

Gave a talk about meteorites and held a meteorite show and tell session with grade 3 students at the Episcopal School of Acadiana (February 2019)

Talked to students in grades 3-7 about being a scientist, planetary science, and meteorites at Aman Setu: My School (March 2017)

Talked to high school girls about careers in Physics at the Non‐traditional Majors and Careers Expo at the University of Louisiana Lafayette (December 2015)

Outreach volunteer at the Robert A. Pritzker Center for Meteoritics and Polar Studies at the Field Museum, Chicago (March 2014-present)

“What are Stars made of” ‐ mentor and laboratory tour guide at Science Careers in Search of Women conference, Argonne National Lab, Chicago (April 2015)

Gave a public talk titled “Stardust from Primitive Meteorites” at the Astronomy Club of Nehru Planetarium (Mumbai, India), followed by a meteorite show-and-tell session (August 2013)

Volunteered for University of Hawai’i’s Institute for Astronomy public outreach events that include stargazing, eclipse, and other celestial event viewings. (2012-2013)

Volunteered to talk about the meteorite collection at the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology’s (SOEST) Biennial Open House (October 2011, 2013)

Served as physics and geophysics judge at the Ohio University State Science Fair organized by the Ohio Academy of Science (November 2002)

Trained amateur astronomers (all age groups) to make 10-inch refracting telescopes (grinding, polishing and aligning mirrors, and assembling telescopes) at the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy & Astrophysics (IUCAA), Pune, India (1996-1999)

Taught children (age group: 10–16 years) to use telescopes and navigate the night sky at 10-day annual summer camps, Panchgani, India. (May 1996 and 1997)