Group members
Welcome to UC Planetary!
We work to understand the formation and evolution of planetary systems, here in the Solar System and across the Galaxy.
We use both observational and theoretical approaches to explore minor planet populations, with our key focus on interstellar objects: small worlds from other stars.
As Earth is a planet, our group helps understand both planetary defence and the environmental effects of the rapid aerospace industrialisation of near-Earth space.
Our space mission involvement includes NASA’s NEO Surveyor, DART and ESA’s Comet Interceptor, and we observe with CFHT, VLT, HST, JWST and planning for Rubin’s LSST.
We collaborate with the School of Earth and Environment, the Faculty of Law, and the Faculty of Engineering, and welcome cross-disciplinary students.
Past members
Thomas Brown (MSc Geology 2024, co-supervised with Ben Kennedy, SEE)
Dominic Ahuriri Budgen (BSc Hons 2023; now at Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Whānau Tahi)
Jasmine Anderson-Baldwin (MSc Astronomy 2023, co-supervised with Nick Rattenbury, U. Auckland. Now in astronomy PhD at U. Swinburne)
Noah Simmonds (ASTR391 2022; now in astronomy MSc, U. Canterbury)
Ben Hofmans (B Prod Sci 2022; now at Kea Aerospace)
Sophie Deam (BSc Hons 2022; now in planetary science PhD at U. Curtin)
Amy Burney (BEnv Sci Hons 2022, co-supervised with Laura Revell; now at K2 Environmental)
Tyler Brown (MSc Astronomy 2022; now at Partly)
Aayushi Verma (BSc Hons 2021; now in computer science PhD at U. Connecticut)
Dylan Patterson (Postdoc 2020; now at Statistics NZ)
Amelia Cordwell (BSc Hons 2020; co-supervised with Nick Rattenbury, U. Auckland; now in astronomy PhD at U. Cambridge)
William Satterthwaite (BSc Hons 2020; now environmental work)
