{"id":129,"date":"2025-07-10T00:11:21","date_gmt":"2025-07-10T00:11:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mappers.psi.edu\/learn\/?page_id=129"},"modified":"2026-07-14T16:06:41","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T16:06:41","slug":"lm-the-team","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/mappers.psi.edu\/learn\/lunar-melt\/lm-the-team\/","title":{"rendered":"Lunar Melt: The Team"},"content":{"rendered":"[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row column_structure=”2_3,1_3″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”||0px||false|false” border_radii=”on|10px|10px|10px|10px” saved_tabs=”all” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”2_3″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_heading title=”Meet our Lunar Geology Team” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” title_font=”|700|||||||” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_heading][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ text_font_size=”16px” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}”]

Kirby Runyon (Lead)<\/strong> is a planetary geologist focused on surface geology. His fascination with space began in the cornfields of southern Michigan, inspired by Star Trek and visits to space and science museums. Known as the \u201cspace guy,\u201d he pursued his passion to become a planetary geologist, earning his PhD at Johns Hopkins University and joining NASA\u2019s New Horizons mission. In 2015, he was among the first to discover Pluto\u2019s mountains and glaciers, transforming it from a fuzzy dot into a vibrant and strange new world. Now with the Planetary Science Institute, Kirby balances NASA-funded planetary research with public speaking and coaching Zero-G flights. As he passionately explores the cosmos, his greatest joy comes from sharing the Universe with curious minds.<\/p>\n

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Susan Sakimoto<\/strong> (collaborator) will be leveraging the boulder sizes and positions you’re mapping to model flows. She has 30+ years of experience in terrestrial volcanology and planetary geophysics, particularly in terrestrial fieldwork and remote sensing, Mars laser altimetry mission work, and thermal and computational fluid dynamics modeling of volcanic, hydraulic, and impact processes. She combines 2-D and 3-D thermal and flow models with fieldwork and experiments to model volcanic and other planetary flow and cooling processes. Susan is a research scientist at the Space Science Institute and advises graduate students through the University of Buffalo.<\/p>\n

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<\/p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#bdc4cf” custom_padding=”20px|20px|20px|20px|true|false” border_radii=”on|10px|10px|10px|10px” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/learn-wp.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/learn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/06200746\/Moon.png” alt=”Cartoon Moons by Noel Ruppenthal” title_text=”Moon” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” width=”60%” module_alignment=”center” custom_margin=”10px|10px|10px|10px|true|true” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_heading title=”Lunar Fast Facts” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” title_font=”|700|||||||” title_text_align=”center” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_heading][et_pb_heading title=”Related Projects” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” title_level=”h4″ title_font=”|600|||||||” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_heading][et_pb_text ul_item_indent=”28px” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_line_height=”1.3em” ul_line_height=”1.5em” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]