Benjamin Byron

Dr. Byron uses orbital and Earth-based remote sensing observations to interpret the composition and physical properties of airless bodies. More specifically, he has utilized ultraviolet through radar wavelength observations from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) and other lunar spacecraft to investigate space weathering and better understand the material properties of the lunar surface. He has also performed thermal modeling to interpret how heat propagation through the lunar regolith is affected by things such as rock abundance and porosity. In graduate school he worked at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio as a member of the LRO Lyman Alpha Mapping Project (LAMP) instrument team. As a postdoctoral researcher at NASA JPL, he joined the LRO Diviner Lunar Radiometer instrument team. He is currently a member of the Lunar-VISE team at UCF, an upcoming lander and rover mission that will explore the Gruithuisen domes region of the lunar surface with the goal of understanding lunar silicic volcanism.