Student Information
Graduate Student
Geological Sciences
The College of Lib Arts & Sci
Long Bio
Mara Karageozian completed her undergraduate degree in geological sciences at Wayne State University in 2017, where her reasearch on the rock properties of gneiss domes in Vermont and Massachusetts contributed to the work of Dr. Sarah Brownlee. Her skills in mineralogy and petrology brought her to ASU's SESE to work with meteorite samples under Dr. Tom Sharp. Her current research uses detailed microscopy to better understand impact-induced shock effects on meteorites. She regularly uses Ar/Ar isotopic dating, electron microscopy, and detailed petrography as scientific techniques to study the highly altered minerals in shocked meteorites. With Dr. Christy Till and the use of stellar composition data, she also investigates what the primitive mineralogy and petrology of an earth-like exoplanet might be at the very beginning of planet formation. These projects will allow the scientific community to make stronger hypotheses about the history of the bodies in our solar system and what the interiors of planets may look like in other solar systems.
Mara is a Michigander at heart, but as an avid gardener she like the warm weather for her plants. She likes to stay involved in politics and social equity when science is not on her mind, and she is passionate about making the sphere of academia a more equitable and inclusive place for all current and future community members. She spends her free time reading, cooking for her friends and family, and hiking whenever it's cool enough for a northern soul.
Education
B.S. Geology - Honors (2017), cum laude
Wayne State University, Detroit MI