Jemma Davidson

Experience

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  Durham University

  Oct 2002 - Jul 2006

  Undergraduate Student

  Studied for an undergraduate degree (four-year MSci) in Geosciences with an emphasis on geochemistry, mineralogy and petrology.

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  The Open University

  Jun 2006 - Sept 2006

  Paneth Meteorite Trust Intern

  While undertaking an F. A. Paneth Meteorite Trust research internship, administered by the Royal Astronomical Society, I prepared and analyzed small micrometeorites (5 to 50 microns in diameter) extracted from ancient Triassic salt deposits. I hand-picked samples using a single-hair brush, prepared hand-polished epoxy-mounted micrometeorite cross-sections, and characterized them via scanning electron microscopy and electron probe microanalysis. I presented the results of this work at the 2006 Meeting of the Royal Astronomical Society, London, the Network for Early Solar System Investigation, Oxford, and the 38th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, Houston. Show less

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  The Open University

  Sept 2009 - Dec 2009

  Consultant

  As a Consultant at the Open University, I provided training to others (including a newly-hired laboratory assistant and postdoctoral associate) related to advanced sample preparation techniques (including handling of small particles, such as interplanetary dust particles, using a micromanipulator) and analysis of astromaterials with the Cameca NanoSIMS 50L ion microprobe.

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  The University of Arizona

  Jun 2010 - Aug 2012

  Postdoctoral Research Associate

  As a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory I had three main projects:(1) Investigated the opaque and silicate mineralogies of CV and CK chondrites to test the single parent body hypothesis. (2) Developed combined LIBS/LA-ICP-MS for the site-specific analysis of extraterrestrial materials. Held a provisional patent.(3) OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return mission: (i) Science Team Collaborator (spectroscopy of organic matter from carbonaceous chondrites), and (ii) Education and Public Outreach working group member, attended outreach events, developed Standard Operating Procedures for EPO tasks, and built and maintained various mission websites. Show less

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  University of Hawaii at Manoa

  Sept 2012 - Aug 2013

  Postdoctoral Fellow

  As a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa, I continued the original research I had initiated at the University of Arizona during my preceding postdoc; understanding the petrology and genesis of CV and CK carbonaceous chondrites, with the aim of testing the shared parent body hypothesis via in situ O-isotope analysis.

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  Carnegie Institution for Science

  Sept 2013 - Sept 2018

  As a NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI) Postdoctoral Associate at the Carnegie Institution of Washington I studied a variety of primitive carbonaceous chondrites (including CM, CR, CO, and ungrouped carbonaceous chondrites) with the goal of furthering our understanding of the evolution of primitive carbonaceous chondrite bodies in the early Solar System. I achieved this by using organic matter and presolar grains as in situ tracers of parent body alteration and correlated their abundances and chemistry with the host meteorite's petrology via a variety of state-of-the-art techniques. Show less

  • Visiting Investigator

    Sept 2015 - Sept 2018

  • Carnegie Postdoctoral Associate

    Sept 2013 - Sept 2015
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  Arizona State University

  Mar 2018 - Jan 2024

  As an Associate Research Scientist in the Buseck Center for Meteorite Studies, I manage numerous research projects and conduct research in isotope cosmochemistry and petrology of astromaterials, including carbonaceous chondrites, martian meteorites, and moon rocks. I am a NASA-sponsored participating scientist on the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's (JAXA) Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission and will analyze samples to be returned from Mars' moon, Phobos. As an Assistant Research Scientist in the Buseck Center for Meteorite Studies, I manage numerous research projects and conduct research in isotope cosmochemistry and petrology of astromaterials including carbonaceous chondrites. My expertise lie primarily in the study of carbonaceous chondrites but I also analyze ordinary chondrites and Hayabusa-returned particles from asteroid Itokawa. In addition, I also undertake volatile element studies of martian meteorites.

  • Associate Research Scientist

    Jul 2023 - Jan 2024

  • Assistant Research Scientist

    Mar 2018 - Jun 2023
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  NASA's Astromaterials Research and Exploration Sciences

  Feb 2024 - now

  Branch Chief, Astromaterials Acquisition and Curation
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  Johnson Space Center

  Nov 2024 - now

  Astromaterials Curator