Weather, Climate and Seasons in the Solar System

Jean-Pierre Williams is a planetary scientist at the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA). He received his PhD in Geophysics and Space Physics from UCLA and was a research scientist at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) for five years before accepting a position at UCLA. His work focuses on the geology and physics of the inner planets, and he has authored and co-authored over sixty peer-reviewed publications on Mars, Mercury, and the Earth’s Moon. He is currently the Deputy Principal Investigator of the Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment on the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, a member of the ShadowCam instrument team on the Korean Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (Danuri) mission, which will image the permanently shadowed regions near the poles of the Moon, and a Co-Investigator of the Lunar Vulkan Imaging and Spectroscopy Explorer (Lunar-VISE), a lander and rover that will explore the summit of a volcanic dome on the Moon.

Richard Soare is a physical geographer specializing in periglacial (cold-climate, non-glacial landscapes). Through the last twenty years he has spent considerable time in the Canadian arctic (physically) and off-planet (intellectually), attempting to identify landscapes on Mars present or past possibly molded by the freeze-thaw cycling of water. His work spans the red planet geographically, ranging from the plains of Utopia Planitia in the northern hemisphere and the Moreux impact-crater at the Mars dichotomy through to the Argyre impact-crater in the southern hemisphere. Recently, he lead-edited “Mars Geological Enigmas: from the late Noachian Epoch to the present day” and a special issue of Icarus: “Current and Recent Landscape Evolution on Mars.”

Dr. James B. Garvin is the chief scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, where he provides strategic guidance on scientific priorities. With over 40 years of experience in Earth and planetary science, he is also the principal investigator of NASA's DAVINCI mission to Venus. Previously, Dr. Garvin served as NASA's chief scientist, advising multiple administrators on key science strategies, including Mars exploration. He played a crucial role in selecting missions such as the Mars Exploration Rovers and the Curiosity Rover, earning two NASA Outstanding Leadership Medals and three Presidential Rank Awards. His expertise spans geology, geophysics, and impact cratering processes. He has led numerous remote-sensing campaigns and participated in several high-profile missions, publishing over 100 peer-reviewed articles. Dr. Garvin holds a Ph.D. in Geological Sciences from Brown University and enjoys exploring nature with his family in Columbia, Maryland.

Tara Tomlinson is a multi-disciplinary scholar with expertise in diverse fields spanning multiple liberal arts, business management, and natural sciences. Most recently her focus is on planetary geophysics, and her experimental work connects micro-scale material properties to large-scale geologic processes to aid in spacecraft data interpretation and model implementation. Additionally, Tara serves the community as a STEM educator focused on workforce development and public outreach, working with K-12 educators, libraries, and museums to create inspiring and informational content for any audience.