Dr. Motoo Ito

Visiting Scientist
E-mail: ito@lpi.usra.edu
JSC residence: Bldg 31, MC/KR, Room Number 128

My primary interests in geochemistry and cosmochemistry are the formation processes and evolutionary timescales of early solar system materials. I have approached these topics by investigating chemical and isotopical zoning patterns in meteoritic minerals and by constraining major and trace elements diffusion kinetics in silicate minerals. In these endeavors, I have become proficient at using various Secondary Ion Mass Spectroscopy (SIMS) instruments over the past 13 years, including IMS-3f, 6f, IMS-1270, and recently the JSC NanoSIMS 50L. I have helped to develop and refine new techniques for high-quality isotopic measurement on the micro-scale level, isotope mapping with high precision and depth profiling for diffusion studies.

For the past 3 years I have worked at NASA Johnson Space Center on a wide range of research topics, including: (1) timescales of formation of the first solar system solids (Ca, Al-rich Inclusions) (2) thermal and alteration histories of primitive meteorite parent bodies (3) determination of diffusion kinetic parameters (4) studies of cometary samples returned by the NASA Stardust mission.

Dr. Ito's personal webpage

Last updated
May 26, 2009