Join Tempe Councilmember Randy Keating as he invites two members of the Arizona State University School of Earth and Space Exploration to talk all things science.

Dr. Rogier Windhorst's research is in astronomy, cosmology, galaxy formation and evolution and more. Since the early 1990's, his group at ASU has contributed significantly to unraveling the formation and evolution of distant galaxies with the Hubble Space Telescope, and the role that supermassive black holes and Active Galactic Nuclei have played in the process of galaxy assembly. He is one of the world's six Interdisciplinary Scientists for NASA's 6.5 meter James Webb Space Telescope.

As a geologist and geophysicist, Dr. Phil Christensen's research interests focus on the composition, processes, and physical properties of Mars, the Earth, and other planetary surfaces. 

He has built five science instruments that have flown on NASA missions to Mars, including the Thermal Emission Imaging System  (THEMIS) camera on Mars Odyssey, the Miniature Thermal Emission Spectrometer  (Mini-TES) instruments on the Mars Exploration Rovers, and the Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) on Mars Global Surveyor and Mars Observer.

Professor Christensen was awarded NASA’s Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal in 2003 for his work on infrared observations of Mars, NASA’s Public Service Medal in 2005, and the G.K. Gilbert Award of the Geological Society of America in 2008. He is a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union.