Lillian Ostrach, ASU, Arizona

As a young girl, Lillian Rose Ostrach dreamed of becoming an astronaut, intent on exploring the planets and reaching for the stars. A few years later, she realized becoming a planetary geologist was her real goal because she could satisfy her yearnings for remotely sensed objects while getting dirty and playing with rocks outside. Lillian is a first-year graduate student in the School of Earth and Space Exploration at ASU. Coming from Brown University where she worked with Dr. Jim Head, she received her B.S. in Geology-Biology in 2007 and her M.S. in Geological Sciences in May 2008, and both her Honors Senior Thesis and Masters Thesis were based on research examining the glacial nature of lobate debris aprons in the northern mid-latitudes of Mars. She has also presented these findings in both poster and oral format at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference.
Under the advising of Dr. Mark Robinson, Lillian is altering her planetary course and beginning to study the Moon as a member of the LROC science team as well as Mercury with the latest MESSENGER data. Lillian also aims to become an active participant with the Apollo Flight Film Scanning Project and any other projects in which her skills can be put to the test. While the majority of her time is spent in the office, Lillian does find time to read novels of all genres, watch classic films and film noir, play outside (hopefully with rocks!), have spontaneous dance parties, and fulfill her inner sci-fi nerd with Doctor Who.