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Katelyn Lehman Franco
Research Assistant
Research Interests
I am an enthusiastic geologist and educator who employs major and trace element geochemistry, isotope geochemistry, and remote sensing to unwrap planetary forming processes and the events that produce volcanic activity. Specifically, I use these tools to constrain the petrogenesis of ancient lava flows and reconstruct the tectonic setting in which the rocks formed. Currently, I am a Ph.D. student at Southern Methodist University under Dr. Rita Economos and Dr. Matt Siegler.
Professional History
Research Assistant, Lunar and Planetary Institute (P.I. Matt Siegler), January 2022-Current
- Petrologic modeling to reproduce heat production maps
Research Assistant for Lunar Regolith Project (P.I. Carolyn Crow), August 2019- Current
- Located and mapped apatite in lunar regolith samples using Fe-SEM with WDS capabilities.
- Analyzed Pb isotopes for lunar regolith apatites using SIMS
Graduate Research Fellow, National Science Foundation,June 2016- December 2019
- Performed original research that focused on major and trace element analyses of volcanic formations, which required extensive scientific writing, organization, problem solving, and project planning
- Statistical analysis was completed with R and geospatial relationships were analyzed using GIS
Summer Intern, Lunar and Planetary Institute, Summer 2012
Honors and Awards
- Richards-Goodell Award. Southern Methodist University. 2021
- University Fellow. Southern Methodist University. 2019-current
- 1st Place Graduate Student Geology Research Poster. McKracken Science Symposium. 2018
- Ronald E. McNair Scholar. Ronald E. McNair Program, 2012-2014
- Leroy Gideon Award for Excellence in Geology. Texas Christian University. 2014
- TCU Honors Scholar Award. Texas Christian University. 2014
- McDorman Honors Scholar Award. Texas Christian University. 2014
- William Scott Award for Commitment to Outreach, Research, and Academics. Texas Christian University. 2013, 2014
- Stephen E. Dwornik Award. Lunar and Planetary Space Conference. Best Undergraduate Oral Presentation. 2013.
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