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!).
Isotope Cosmo-/Geochemist & Petrologist [inorganic]
Scientist of Solar System History & Dynamic Planets
* Planetary geologist whose work can link to space exploration missions
* Petrologist as well as clean laboratory & mass-spectrometry analytical specialist.
* Champions women and others underrepresented in STEM.
* Influential also via e.g. purposeful, inclusive community building & accelerated intellectual exchange.
And as a domestic & international advocate / expert advisor.
I lead ambitious projects and teams at the nexus of purposeful research, teaching, public engagement & inclusive community building.
What are asteroids, mooons, planets (incl. habitable Earth), and solar systems made of?
How did they form and evolve over time?
To address these chellenging questions, my areas of greatest intellectual leadership constrain the nature of planetary growth and the building blocks from which embryonic planetary precursors and grown planets were made. In so doing, this work deciphers high-temperature magmatic processes, crust-mantle-(infering core) compositions, Solar System bodies’ long-term secular evolution, and stochastic disruption events. To do so team and I draw on petrology/mineralogy and geochemistry embedding e.g. applications of Highly Siderophile Element +/- Multi-Element Isotope Cosmo- and Geochemistry to planetary science, associated methodological innovations, and contributions helping shape space exploration mission conception and sample return.
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If you 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 very ancient origins and striking history of our Solar System? Plus, intrigued by how that information can helps us decipher the earliest phases of Solar System’s storied past as well as the roughly 4.51 billion year story of the Moon and its companion, our habitable home world? and you are an interested student, postdoc, aspiring Fellow, or collaborator? Then please check here for ideas and/or links of funding pathways to join the team or work together – Research and Opportunities
Also, be aware of the UK Cosmochemical Analysis Network.
My role titles
Ongoing – Principal Planetary Sci./Cosmochem. Consultant (senior), Scotland, UK, and Affiliate Scientist SETI Institute, USA.
Prior – Consulting Professor, adminstered by The Open University, UK.
Principal Planetary Sci./Cosmochem. Consultant (senior), Scotland, UK.
Laboratory Manager, University of Glasgow, UK.
Marie Sklodowska-Curie [Experienced] Individual Fellow (~equivalent to Reader), Durham University, UK.
Project Manager (equivalent to Senior Lecturer), private sector, Canada.
Lecturer, University of Alberta, Canada.
Research Fellow, Arctic Res. Geochem. Labs & Canadian Centre for Isotopic Microanalysis, U of Alberta, Canada.
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Planetary Geosciences Institute, University of Tennessee, USA.
A pdf of my CV can be shared upon request. Publication outputs are listed here and on ORCID.
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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:
- International Conference on Planets, Exoplanets, and Habitability, Ahmedabad, India. (SOC)
- Inaugural Forming and Exploring Habitable Worlds Meeting, Edinburgh, UK. (Chaired)
- 4th International Workshop on Highly Siderophile Element Geochemistry, Durham, UK. (Chaired)
- 76th Annual Meeting of the Meteoritical Society, Edmonton, Canada. (1 of 4, Local Host Team)
- Goldschmidt Conference, Knoxville, USA. (Volunteer with Local Host Team)
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Whilst we live, retrieve meteorites, and conduct other field work among surface landscapes where geological diversity is critical to life and biodiversity [on habitable Earth], central to the work of my excellent group members, colleagues, and collaborators is the probing – via lab-based empirical studies – the ‘solid’ of rocky bodies, through planetary magmatism to constrain compositions and evolution of the interior, the whole, and the wider importance of our findings to e.g. understanding Solar System history.
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 cosmochemistry networks and e.g. 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.
“Without freedom of choice there is no creativity” Cpt. Kirk, Star Trek.
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Books Kind and Inclusive Community Cultures Activities Blog
2022, Meeting Info – Forming and Exploring Habitable Worlds.
CONTACT ME:
Amy J. V. Riches 