Katherine de Kleer Honored for Outstanding Achievements in Planetary Science

Katherine de Kleer, assistant professor of planetary science and astronomy, and Hufstedler Family Scholar, has been named the recipient of the 2024 Harold C. Urey Prize, given by the Division for Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society. The prize recognizes outstanding achievements in planetary science by an early career scientist.

De Kleer's award citation notes her "creative and outstanding work in planetary astronomy." Motivated by fundamental questions in the field, her research spans a range of techniques, including using mutual satellite events to map volcanic structures on Io, using eclipse observations of Jupiter's four largest moons to observe that planet's visible auroral emissions, observing some of the potentially earliest formed asteroids with the James Webb Space Telescope, and using isotopic observations of gases on Io to make informed statements about the volcanic history of the body.

In addition to her research, de Kleer has contributed to a range of unique outreach efforts, including teaching physics classes in San Quentin Rehabilitation Center, and working as an astronomer in residence at Grand Canyon National Park.

De Kleer was recently named a 2024 Cottrell Scholar by the Research Corporation for Science Advancement. She also holds the Hufstedler Family Early-Career Professorship for Planetary Exploration. She received bachelor's degrees in mathematics and physics from MIT in 2009 and her PhD in astrophysics from UC Berkeley in 2017. De Kleer was a Heising-Simons Foundation 51 Pegasi b Postdoctoral Fellow at Caltech from 2017 to 2019 before joining the Caltech faculty in 2019.