Joshua Colwell

Joshua Colwell Headshot

Pegasus Professor & Department Chair

Department of Physics

PSB 434

407-823-2012

josh@ucf.edu

Biography
Research
Publications

Dr. Colwell received his B.S. in Physics from Stetson University and a Ph.D. in Astrophysical, Planetary and Atmospheric Sciences from the University of Colorado at Boulder. He has been on the faculty at UCF since 2006 and currently the Department of Physics Chair.

I study the origin and evolution of the solar system and in particular small bodies such as planetary rings, asteroids, comets, dust, and small moons. I’m a Co-Investigator on the Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph (UVIS) on the Cassini spacecraft, leading observation design and data analysis and interpretation for observations of Saturn’s rings with that instrument. I am Director of the Center for Microgravity Research within the UCF Physics Department where we design, build and operate microgravity experiments to study the early stages of planet formation, the surfaces of small asteroids and moons, and the collisional evolution of planetary rings.

Authors Title Published Date Journal
Sega, Daniel D.; Stewart, Glen; Colwell, Joshua E.; and 3 coauthors The dynamics of self-gravity wakes in the Mimas 5:3 bending wave: Modifying the linear theory May 2024 Icarus 413, 115987
Cox, Christopher; Dove, Adrienne; Colwell, Joshua E.; and 1 coauthor Low-Velocity Impact Experiments in Low-Duration Microgravity Dec 2022 AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts 2022, EP42D-1648
Jerousek, Richard; Colwell, Joshua E.; Esposito, Larry W. The 3rd Dimension of the C ring Plateaus from Cassini Stellar and Radio Occultations Dec 2022 AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts 2022, P35E-1920
Esposito, Larry W.; Sremcevic, Miodrag; Colwell, Joshua E.; and 2 coauthors Statistics of Saturn’s Ring Occultations: Implications for Structure, Dynamics and Origins Dec 2022 AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts 2022, P35E-1919
Featherstone, Jack; Bullard, Robert; Emm, Tristan; and 7 coauthors Stick-slip Dynamics in Penetration Experiments on Simulated Regolith Dec 2021 The Planetary Science Journal 2, 243
Mauricio-Gonzalez, Adrian; Jerousek, Richard; Colwell, Joshua Azimuthal Transparency Profiles of Ring Edges from UVIS Occultations of Binary Stars Dec 2021 AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts 2021, P35E-2169
Jerousek, Richard; Colwell, Joshua; Tiscareno, Matthew; and 2 coauthors Small-scale azimuthal structure in Saturns rings Dec 2021 AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts 2021, P35E-2168
Esposito, Larry; Sremcevic, Miodrag; Colwell, Joshua; and 2 coauthors Flattening of ring particles and self-gravity wakes in Saturns rings Dec 2021 AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts 2021, P35E-2163
Colwell, Joshua; Brooks, Madisyn; Jerousek, Richard; and 5 coauthors Irregular Structure in the Core of Saturns B Ring Dec 2021 AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts 2021, P34A-01
Jarmak, Stephanie; Brisset, Julie; Colwell, Joshua; and 5 coauthors CubeSat Particle Aggregation Collision Experiment (Q-PACE): Design of a 3U CubeSat mission to investigate planetesimal formation Feb 2019 Acta Astronautica 155, 131
Becker, Tracy M.; Colwell, Joshua E.; Esposito, Larry W.; and 2 coauthors Cassini UVIS solar occultations by Saturn’s F ring and the detection of collision-produced micron-sized dust May 2018 Icarus 306, 171
Brisset, Julie; Colwell, Joshua; Dove, Adrienne; and 1 coauthor NanoRocks: Design and performance of an experiment studying planet formation on the International Space Station Jul 2017 Review of Scientific Instruments 88, 074502