The People of the PMag Lab

Katie E. Bristol, Postdoctoral Researcher

Katie is a geophysicist at the Purdue Planetary Magnetics Laboratory where she investigates magnetic records preserved in meteorites to understand the formation and evolution of Young Stellar Objects and protoplanetary disks. She also uses Precambrian rocks to study the early thermal evolution and differentiation of planets and their magnetic fields, exploring links to planetary habitability. Previously she has worked on interdisciplinary projects, such as combining paleomagnetic methods with volcanology, geochronology, and modeling to study the emplacement of Large Igneous Provinces and their impact on Earth's geological and climatic history.

Katie earned her BS in Applied Geophysics (minor in Geological Engineering) and MS in Geophysics from Michigan Technological University. She also holds a PhD in Geology from the University of Florida. In her free time she enjoys hiking, astrophotography, and crochet.

Katie’s Website Google Scholar

Sedinam Biassey-Bogart, Graduate Student

Sedi is investigating the existence of remnant magnetism in the crust of icy moons. She does this by simulating convection in the outer ice shells of these moons to study how iron minerals can be magnetized and aligned in the presence of a background magnetic field. Her interests include books, nature, and music.

Allison Loper, Undergraduate Researcher

Allison is studying lunar magnetic anomalies and radiation shielding. Magnetic anomalies below the Moon's surface can produce "mini-magnetospheres" which can provide shielding from incoming space radiation, similar to how Earth's magnetic field protects us. She is working to determine the implications this may have on human lunar missions.

Allison is a junior in Applied Physics. Outside of research, she is the president of Gender Minorities in Physics (GMiP) at Purdue, and her interests include participating in K-12 science outreach, reading fantasy, playing cozy video games, and hiking.

Bianna Petruccelli, Undergraduate Researcher

Brianna is an undergraduate in Planetary Science and Computer Science and is studying lightning-induced remanent magnetism on Mars. She’s the oldest of 6 kids, loves to hike and draw, and wants to be an astronaut one day.

Henry Lee, Undergraduate Researcher

Henry is an undergraduate student studying Computer Science. His current research project is trying to set up a virtual reality cave model for educational purposes. Students visit Indiana's caves as a part of their education but the logistics to set the trips can be expensive. As a result, building a model of Indiana's caves is an alternative that is currently being explored. His part involves handling and manipulating millions of data points, searching for the best way to interpolate white space between the data points, and building a 3D structure of a cave in the Unity Engine. His hobbies include drawing, writing, and playing video games.

Henry’s Website

Siya Jariwala, Undergraduate Researcher

Siya is a freshman at Purdue University studying Computer Science. At Purdue, she’s involved in the John Martinson Honors College, Data Mine LLC, Hack the Future, and Boiler Blockchain. At PMag Lab, Siya is working on developing Virtual Reality (VR) environments to aid in informal and formal education.