Dr. Suzanne Smrekar
January 22, 2021 - 02:12 PM
(2019) Dr. Suzanne Smrekar – Deputy Principal Investigator for the InSight Mission to Mars
Dr. Sue Smrekar is a geophysicist with a specialty in the tectonics and geodynamics of Venus and Mars. She is especially interested in what causes rocky planets to evolve differently, and the lessons for understanding exoplanet evolution and habituality. She got her undergraduate degree in Geophysics/Applied Math at Brown University, and her PhD in Geophysics at Southern Methodist University. She did her postdoc at MIT before coming to JPL in 1992. Since then she has balanced research with project responsibilities, including Project Scientist for Deep Space 2, pre-project scientist for the Mars Science Laboratory Rover, and Deputy Project Scientist for Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. She is currently the Deputy Principal Investigator for the InSight mission to Mars. She has also been involved in heat flow instrument development, including the instrument on InSight, the Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package. Her goal is to send a new mission to investigate the surface of Venus.