Lynnae Quick facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Lynnae C. Quick
Born	Greensboro, NC, United States
Alma mater	North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, BS The Catholic University of America, MS Johns Hopkins University, MA, PhD
Scientific career
Fields	Planetary science
Institutions	Goddard Space Flight Center
Thesis	Europa: Cryomagmatic Processes & Cryovolcanic Surface Expressions
Academic advisors	Bruce D. Marsh, Louise Prockter

Lynnae C. Quick (born 1984) is an American scientist who studies planets. She works at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. Dr. Quick is an expert in "Ocean Worlds," which are planets or moons that might have oceans hidden under their surfaces.

Her work involves using computers to create models. These models help her understand how volcanoes work on icy moons and dwarf planets in our Solar System. She also studies volcanoes on Venus and Earth's Moon. Dr. Quick is part of the science teams for important NASA missions like Dawn, Europa Clipper, and Dragonfly. She also helps lead a group for Black physicists, focusing on Earth and planetary science.

Lynnae Quick's Education Journey

Quick grew up in Greensboro, North Carolina. In high school, she became fascinated by astronomy, especially how stars die and how giant supermassive black holes are formed. Her physics teacher, John M. Brown, encouraged her interest. He even connected her with an astrophysicist named Reva Williams, who also told her to aim for a PhD.

Quick earned her first degree, a Bachelor of Science in physics, from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. She graduated with very high honors. During college, she took a special class called "Women in Science." This class taught her about the achievements of African American women in science and how to succeed in science careers. It helped her feel proud to be a woman in science.

While in college, Quick had internships at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory and at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. These experiences made her interested in studying planets and exoplanets (planets outside our solar system). After graduating, she interned at the Applied Physics Laboratory. There, she spent a summer studying Europa, one of Jupiter's moons.

Next, Quick went to The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.. She earned her Master of Science degree in physics, focusing on astrophysics. She continued her research at the Applied Physics Laboratory and Goddard Space Flight Center. In 2013, she received her Doctor of Philosophy degree from Johns Hopkins University. Her PhD research focused on how ice volcanoes work on Europa.

Lynnae Quick's Career and Discoveries

After getting her PhD, Dr. Quick became a NASA Postdoctoral Program Fellow. She studied volcanic domes on Venus and Europa. Later, she also began studying cryovolcanic activity on Saturn's moon Enceladus.

Both Europa and Enceladus have giant plumes, like geysers, that shoot water into space. This shows that they have oceans hidden beneath their icy surfaces! Dr. Quick's early work focused on understanding these amazing geological processes. She also became part of the science team for NASA's Europa Clipper mission, which will explore Europa.

After her fellowship, Dr. Quick worked at the Planetary Science Institute. Then, she became a staff scientist at the Smithsonian Institution's Center for Earth and Planetary Studies. She was the first African American staff scientist in the center's history.

In 2019, Dr. Quick joined NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. She became an Ocean Worlds Planetary Scientist. She continues to study ice volcanoes and other geological processes on moons and planets. She even studies activity in planets outside our solar system.

Dr. Quick also used her skills to study Ceres, a dwarf planet in the asteroid belt. Scientists think Ceres might have had a global ocean long ago that slowly froze. Dr. Quick and her team found bright spots on Ceres' surface. These spots are evidence of salty water (brine) from under the surface that erupted out. She was the first to model how this material moved from deep inside Ceres to its surface.

In 2020, Dr. Quick led a NASA study about 53 exoplanets that are similar in size to Earth. She used math to estimate how much heat these planets have inside, which can tell us about their volcanic activity. She and her team found that all 53 exoplanets likely have volcanoes. Even more exciting, over a quarter of these exoplanets could be "ocean worlds," meaning they might have a lot of water under their surfaces. This means they could potentially support life! Future missions, like the James Webb Space Telescope, will help us learn more about these planets.

Besides her work on Europa Clipper, Dr. Quick is also a science team member for NASA's Dragonfly mission. This mission will send a drone-like spacecraft to Titan, Saturn's largest moon.

Awards and Honors

In 2013, Lynnae Quick received a NASA Postdoctoral Program Fellowship award. In 2021, an asteroid was named 37349 Lynnaequick in her honor.

Also in 2021, Dr. Quick received the American Astronomical Society's Division for Planetary Sciences Harold C. Urey Prize. This is a very high honor for young planetary scientists, recognizing outstanding achievements early in their careers. She also received an Alumni Achievement Award from her undergraduate university, North Carolina A&T State University.

About Lynnae Quick

Lynnae Quick is a third-generation graduate of North Carolina A&T State University. She and her husband, Lamar, live near Washington, DC.

See also

In Spanish: Lynnae Quick para niños