It's published! - ACS In Focus: Astrochemistry
Olivia Wilkins
The book I wrote and partially illustrated for the American Chemical Society has been published!
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Graduate School: Applying, Living, Thesising
The Professional Student is a blog about everything grad school from the application process to my experiences living as a grad student, being a parent in grad school, and researching the role of chemistry in the evolution of our universe.
Filtering by Tag: Astrochemistry
Book Cover Reveal
Olivia Wilkins
A year ago, I signed a contract to write a book for the American Chemical Society. The book is now in production and is set to publish in July!
Read MoreRecent Writing: Chemistry on a Saturnian moon and parenting in a pandemic
Olivia Wilkins
Check out some of my writing recently published by Massive Science and Chemical & Engineering News!
Read MoreFrom (star) dust to (star) dust
Olivia Wilkins
“After all, we are all made of star dust, and so I hope that we can work to understand the origin of life together. Fortunately, we have about 5 billion years until the Sun enters a red giant phase and consumes the Earth, returning us to star dust once more.”
Read MoreAstrochemistry: The Study of Molecules in Space
Olivia Wilkins
Astrochemistry is the joining of astronomy and chemistry, but what types of questions do astrochemists study, and why do they study these questions at all? Here, astrochemistry is defined as the study of molecules in space, and we take a look at where they are, how they got there, and what they are doing before considering some of the many ways in which chemistry can help us understand our wider universe.
Read More#365papers: Weeks 6-13
Olivia Wilkins
Illustrated summaries from my weeks 6 through 13 of reading #365papers are all about different complex organic molecules in protostars and molecular clouds.
Read MoreHow is ice on Mercury possible?
Olivia Wilkins
Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun, and yet water ice has been found on its surface. How is this possible? Permanent shadows and organic chemistry.
Read More#365papers: Weeks 4-5
Olivia Wilkins
Illustrated summaries from my fourth and fifth weeks of reading #365papers are all about different complex organic molecules in protostars and molecular clouds.
Read MoreDeciphering the Rosetta Stone: 67P
Olivia Wilkins
The Rosetta mission to comet 67P gave us some insights into cosmochemistry, but it also showed we have much to learn in the way of comets. For my final project in Cosmochemistry, I discussed the implications of Rosetta's observations of water, oxygen, and organics in 67P.
Read MoreRecap: Term 4
Olivia Wilkins
Summer, travel, teaching, and observing. These are the highlights from my fourth term of grad school.
Read MoreChemical archaeology in space
Olivia Wilkins
When I was younger, I wanted to be an archaeologist. I figured astrochemistry was close enough. It's space archaeology, space meteorology, astrobiology, and so, so much more....
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