As an isotope geochemist and petrologist, Dr. Davidson uses a combination of techniques to tackle her research objectives. Her studies involve correlating isotopic analyses (primarily via SIMS) with petrological and chemical characterization (achieved by optical and electron microscopy techniques, and various spectroscopies). Her research aims to identify and characterize primitive early solar system astromaterials to aid understanding of the material from which small bodies formed, and then to trace changes in this material as a result of pre- and post-accretionary processes to understand asteroidal evolution in the early solar system.

Dr. Davidson's postdoctoral and graduate research concentrated on in-situ isotopic studies of organic matter and presolar grains as tracers of the effects of parent body processing in primitive chondrites. She also studied the petrological, chemical, and isotopic links between CK (Karoonda-like) and CV (Vigarano-like) carbonaceous chondrites, and the CO (Ornans-like) and CM (Mighei-like) chondrites in order to test the common parent body hypotheses for these meteorite clans.

Dr. Davidson's expertise are not limited to chondritic meteorites; she has also performed research on a whole host of different sample types – from micrometeorites in ancient salt deposits, presolar grains in chondrites and interplanetary dust particles, volatiles in martian meteorites, and lunar basalts returned by the NASA Apollo missions. She has also worked on two missions; ESA’s European Student Moon Orbiter and NASA’s OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Sample Return Mission.

To read more about my research interests click here.