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Galileo Circle Fellows

The 2012 Galileo Circle Fellows

Four distinguished faculty members of the University of Arizona College of Science have been named as 2012 Galileo Circle Fellows, one of the highest honors bestowed upon faculty in the College.

2012 Galileo Circle Fellows (left to right) Peter A. Troch, Dennis L. Lichtenberger, Lucy M. Ziurys, and Jon D. Pelletier.

2012 GALILEO CIRCLE FELLOWS

Peter A. Troch

Professor of Hydrology and Water Resources

Internationally recognized in the fields of hillslope and catchment hydrology, Dr. Troch's work on remote sensing and data assimilation, hydrologic similarity, and catchment ecohydrology has inspired paradigm shifts in hydrologic theory. His innovative research has implications for global change hydrology, understanding the role of climate and landscape characteristics in the water and carbon cycle, and for developing predictive models of water resources in a changing environment. He received the European Geosciences Union's John Dalton Medal in 2011 for seminal contributions to hydrology, and was invited by the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences to deliver the 2011 Boussinesq Hydrology Lecture. He is an exceptional teacher and mentor to students and post-doctoral fellows.

Dennis L. Lichtenberger

Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry

A central theme of Dr. Lichtenberger's research has been the development of both instrumentation and theory to probe and understand the nature of matter at the level of electronic structure. He is internationally recognized for his discoveries of the electron energies and properties of complicated molecules by the technique of photoelectron spectroscopy. The principles that have emerged from his research are fundamental to broad areas of industrial catalysis, electronic materials, biological functions, and most recently, solar energy conversion to clean and sustainable fuels. Scientists world-wide have utilized the instrumentation capabilities developed in his laboratory. In his activities in the American Chemical Society, he is currently chair of the Organometallics subdivision and Associate Editor of the journal Organometallics.

Lucy M. Ziurys

Professor of Astronomy and Chemistry and Biochemistry

Director, Arizona Radio Observatory

Elizabeth and Keith Hege Galileo Circle Fellow

Dr. Ziurys works at the interface between astronomy, chemistry, molecular physics, and planetary science. She leads a world-renowned group in the growing field of astrochemistry, combining the disciplines of experimental laboratory spectroscopy with observational radio astronomy. Her work illuminates the chemical evolution of the Galaxy and its relationship to star and planetary formation, and the cosmic origins of life. Dr. Ziurys has established and leads the Astrochemistry Lab, a world-class facility for spectroscopy at microwave, millimeter, and sub-mm wavelengths to study potential interstellar molecules. As director of the Arizona Radio Observatory (ARO), she has transformed existing telescopes into powerful research facilities. She is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, and has won a Graduate and Professional Student Council Outstanding Faculty Mentor Award.

Jon D. Pelletier

Professor of Geosciences

Dr. Pelletier is a world leader in the mathematical modeling of complex systems in geosciences. Dr. Pelletier's main current research focus is quantifying the interactions between the shapes of landforms on Earth and Mars and flow of water and wind over those landforms. Although his work focuses on mathematics, Dr. Pelletier also uses remote sensing, field observations, and laboratory analyses to motivate and validate all his models. His research spans a very wide range from the causes of the Earth's ice ages to the shapes of mountain ranges, river valleys, and sand dunes on Earth and Mars. In 2008, he wrote a widely-used textbook on the quantitative modeling of Earth surface processes.