Amy J. V. Riches (She/Her)

Do not follow where the path may lead.
Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail (and see who joins in!).

Amy walk

Isotope Cosmo-/Geochemist & Petrologist [inorganic]
Scientist of Dynamic Planets & Solar System History
* Planetary geologist whose work links to space exploration missions
* Champions women and others underrepresented in STEM.
* Influential also via e.g.  purposeful, inclusive community building, & as a domestic & international advocate / expert advisor.

Specialist leadership includes applications of Highly Siderophile Element / Isotope Cosmo-/Geochemistry to planetary science, associated methodological innovations, and space exploration mission conception.

**********

I lead ambitious projects and teams at the nexus of purposeful research, teaching, public engagement & inclusive community building.

Are you an interested student, postdoc, or collaborator? Please check here for ideas and/or links of funding pathways to join the team or work together – Research and Opportunities

Are you, like me, forever amazed at how – when combined – the geology and chemical messages among natural materials such as rocks from space (meteorites, returned planetary samples) +/- and Earth tell us of the striking history of our Solar System and life within it? Plus, intrigued by how that information helps us decipher the roughly 4.51 billion year story of the Moon and its companion, our home world?

Also, be aware of the UK Cosmochemical Analysis Network.

My CV: 2025 draft mid-length version (2 pagers or other formats available upon request.)
Publications are listed at this page or on ORCID.

**********

Example influential community-building conferences of lasting impact that I’ve attracted to my institutions, region, and led as Chair or steered and supported as scientific / local host team for community powerhouse success include:

**********

Whilst we tread and conduct field work among surface landscapes where geological diversity is critical to life and biodiversity [on habitable Earth], much of my own world-leading group work probes the ‘solid’ of rocky bodies, through planetary magmatism and inside compositions to understand the whole.

Rocky interiors – sampled indirectly by magmas, or directly whenever we have precious mantle rock samples – retain crucially important cryptic chemical fingerprints of e.g. how materials crashed together during our Solar System’s planetary growth, which also set the stage for the beginning of processes such as subduction on ancient Earth where vital to constrain its nature, timing, and variance. Advancing such planet- and solar system scale knowledge is fundamentally significant, and can exert controlling influences on planetary exteriors where wide arrays of e.g. volcanic edifices, mountain ranges, valleys, +/- ocean basins, erosional processes, and impact craters are evident and consequential for the rise and evolution of life.

As an example, rocky bodies can be considered in terms of broad layers. Those noted below interlink as part of the recipe of planets and their ongoing dynamic whole-body cycles. 

  • Atmosphere = often a small amount by volume, e.g. 0.0000863 % of Earth by mass.
  • Crust = 1 % or less by volume and mass in the case of Earth and some other examples.
  • Interior rocky mantle = 84 % by volume, around 67 % by mass for e.g. Earth.
    The mantle is a long-term governing force and body of materials very important to understand.
  • Outer and inner dominantly Fe-Ni metal core = about 15 % by volume, over 30 % by mass.

Proportions of the above for other Solar System bodies vary; the reasons for this link to their celestial location(s), the mix of available materials- and the processes that have affected them during their rocky (or otherwise) birth and growth.

************************

I believe that sharing what we do – via delivery of learning and broad engagement – and genuinely building [intersectionally] diverse and inclusive isotope geo/cosmochemistry communities are collective duties. Thereby providing strong and skilled foundations to interdisciplinary and cross-sector efforts capable of driving fundamental discoveries, inventions, and solutions serving the greater good. Whilst a planetary scientist, I’m a great admirer of what has- and is being accomplished through committed, uncompromising intentional clusters such as UCLA’s purposeful Center for Developing Leadership in Science – a beacon we must learn from.

As a highly-motivated and committed advocate of women in STEM and leadHERship, I support a range of efforts growing (intersectionally) diverse, kind, respectful communities that promote healthy balance too. Also a signatory of the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment, the Leiden Manifesto, and Plan-S publication practices. 

Context: Geology and (isotope) geochemistry – part of planetary science including Earth – are broad subjects, concerning the study of natural materials and environments. Many areas of our work – and how these mesh with our drives of new inventions / innovations, culture, society, and governance – are critically important to people learning the skills and understanding during their studies +/- early career research in preparation for their jobs and wider futures. Where many of those we train will go on to undertake a range of key roles with varied employers underpinning successful, well-functioning societies helping to urgently tackle the pressing STEM and space skills gaps; challenges of current rapid climate-environmental change; support and evolve cross-cutting education; uplift science literacy among the general public; and collectively support increasing global activity in space exploration.

bottom banner

“Without freedom of choice there is no creativity” Cpt. Kirk, Star Trek.

************************************************************************

Books     Kind and Inclusive Community Cultures     Activities    Blog

2022, Meeting Info – Forming and Exploring Habitable Worlds.

If interested in engaging me on a contractual basis I will provide a quote based on information provided.
Please mark your message “consultancy request”.

CONTACT ME:

← Back

Thank you for your response. ✨