Dr. Patrick J. McGovern

Professional Background

Business Address: Lunar and Planetary Institute
3600 Bay Area Blvd
Houston, TX 77058
Phone: 281-486-2187
Fax: 281-486-2162
mcgovern@lpi.usra.edu

EDUCATION

Ph. D., Geophysics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1996. Thesis title: "Studies of Large Volcanoes on the Terrestrial Planets: Implications for Stress State, Tectonics, Structural Evolution, and Moat Filling".

Graduate work, Department of Earth and Space Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, CA. 1987–1988.

S. B., Aeronautics and Astronautics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1986.

EMPLOYMENT

Staff Scientist, Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston, TX, November 1999–present.

Postdoctoral Associate, Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, DC, June 1996–October 1999.

Research Assistant, Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA. September 1988–May 1996.

HONORS AND APPOINTMENTS

Adjunct Faculty, Rice University (Associate Professor rank since 2009)......................................................2004–present

Visiting Investigator, DTM, Carnegie Institution of Washington .....................................................................1999–present

Stephen E. Dwornik Student Paper Award, Lunar and Planetary Science Conference ............................................1993

Luis De Florez Award (Aeronautics and Astronautics, MIT) ............................................................................................1986

PROFESSIONAL SERVICE

Co-convener of Workshop on “Hemispheres Apart: The Origin and Modification of the Martian Crustal Dichotomy”, LPI Sept. 30–Oct. 1, 2004.

Guest Editor of Special Section of GRL: “The Hemispheric Dichotomy of Mars”, 2006.

Co-convener of Topical Session “Advances in Discontinuum Modeling in the Study of Earth Structure and Deformation” at the 2008 GSA Meeting.

Co-convener of Workshop on “Tharsis Structure and Evolution”, planned for 2011.

Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC) Program Committees, 2000–2001, 2008–2009.

Judge for GSA Dwornik Student Paper Award at LPSC, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008.

Numerous NASA grant program review panels: PIDDP, PG&G*, MDAP*, MFRP.
(* indicates Group Chief service.)

Chair, Joint LPI-JSC Visitors Hiring Committee (for Postdoctoral- and Visiting Scientist-level appointments), 2008–present.

NASA MISSION AND PROGRAM PARTICIPATION

Magellan (Venus): analyzed radar image, topography, and gravity data, 2 papers as lead author.

Mars Global Surveyor, MOLA altimeter team: contributed to 8 team papers (3 as lead author).

Mars Data Analysis Program (MDAP) Principal Investigator, 2002–2012. Current grant:  Structural Characterization and Evolution of Large Volcanoes on Mars with Insights from Numerical Simulations.

Planetary Geology and Geophysics Program (PG&G) Principal Investigator, 2005–2011. Current grant: Mechanical Controls on Magma Ascent, Storage, and Eruption at Large Volcanic Edifices on Venus.

NASA Lunar Science Institute (NLSI) Co-Investigator, 2009–2013. Current grant: Impact Processes in the Origin Evolution of the Moon: New Sample-driven Perspectives.

RAVEN (RAdar at VENus): Co-Investigator on Discovery-class mission to collect high-resolution imaging and topography data for Venus using the proven RADARSAT instrument.

PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES

American Geophysical Union

Geological Society of America

UNIVERSITY EDUCATION AND RESEARCH

Rice University, Dept. of Earth Science:
Taught 3 classes: ESci 214 “The Planets”, 2005–2007; ESci 524 “Advanced Topics in Earth Structure and Deformation” (Planetary Tectonics Seminar), 2009; ESci 525 “Volcanoteconics” (Seminar), 2010.
Served as M. S. thesis Co-Advisor for graduate student Lindsay (Farrell) Zivney and Ph. D. Exam Committee member for graduate student Constantin Sandu.

Trinity College Dublin, Dept. of Geology:
Ph.D. Viva (Thesis Defense) Examination Committee: External Examiner for Paul Byrne, “Volcano Flank Terraces on Mars”, February 2010.

Lunar and Planetary Institute Summer Intern Program:
Supervised undergraduate students Alex Dickie, 2000; Margarita Marinova, 2001; Martin Collier, 2002; Donielle Chittenden, 2003; Selby Cull, 2004; Elise Rumpf, 2006; Mairi Litherland* 2008; Jennifer Buz, 2009; Katelyn Verner, 2010.
* indicates winner of prestigious Dwornik Award for Best Student Poster (Undergraduate Division) at the 2009 Lunar and Planetary Science Conference.

RECENT INVITED OR OTHERWISE PRESTIGIOUS PRESENTATIONS

Trinity College Dublin 2010, Department of Geology Seminar.

AGU Fall Meeting 2009: “Lithospheric Flexure: the Key to the Structural Evolution of Large Volcanic Edifices on the Terrestrial Planets”, invited talk to Special Session V12 “Volcano-Tectonics: New Insights from Earth and Other Planets”.

Stony Brook University 2009, Department of Geosciences Colloquium.

Vernadsky Microsymposium 49, the Woodlands, TX, March 21, 2009 (in conjunction with LPSC 2009): “Effects of Membrane and Flexural Loading Stresses on Magma Ascent in and around Large Impact Basins on Mercury and the Moon” (Co-author M. M. Litherland).

University of Arizona, Department of Planetary Sciences Colloquium, November 2006.

Rice University, Department of Earth Science Seminar, October 2006.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

(* indicates Science “Editor’s Choice” selection)

McGovern, P. J., M. E. Rumpf and and J. R. Zimbelman, The influence of lithospheric flexure and edifice shape on magma ascent at large volcanoes on Venus, in preparation, 2010.

McGovern, P. J., and M. M. Litherland, Loading stresses and magma ascent in and around large lunar impact basins: scenarios for the emplacement of mare basalts, in preparation, 2010.

Galgana, G. A., P. J. McGovern and E. B. Grosfils, Evolution of large venusian volcanoes: Insights from coupled models of lithospheric flexure and magma reservoir pressurization, J. Geophys. Res., submitted, May 19, 2010.

Schwenzer, S. P. et al., Targeting Noachian Impact Craters: An Exploration Strategy for Studying the Martian Subsurface, Hydrothermal Systems and Potential Habitats for Life, Icarus, submitted April 15, 2010.

McGovern, P. J., and J. K. Morgan, Volcanic spreading and lateral variations in the structure of Olympus Mons, Mars, Geology, 37, 139–142, 2009.

*McGovern, P. J., Flexural stresses beneath Hawaii: Implications for the October 15, 2006, earthquakes and magma ascent, Geophys. Res. Lett., 34, L23305, doi:10.1029/2007GL031305, 2007.

Watters, T. R., P. J. McGovern, and R. P. Irwin III, Hemispheres Apart: The Crustal Dichotomy on Mars, Annual Reviews, 35, 621–52, 2007.

Solomon, S. C., et al., New Perspectives on Ancient Mars, Science, 37, 1214–1220, 2005.

Morgan, J. K., and P. J. McGovern, Discrete element simulations of gravitational volcanic deformation: 1. Deformation structures and geometries, J. Geophys. Res., doi:10.1029/2004JB003252, 2005.

*McGovern, P. J., J. R. Smith, J. K. Morgan and M. H. Bulmer, The Olympus Mons aureole deposits: New evidence for a flank-failure origin, J. Geophys. Res., doi:10.1029/2004JE002258, 2004.

McGovern, P. J., et al., Localized gravity/topography admittance and correlation spectra on Mars: Implications for regional and global evolution, J. Geophys. Res., doi:10.1029/2002JE001854, 2002.

SELECTED ABSTRACTS

G. S. Collins, R. W. K. Potter, D. A. Kring, W. S. Kiefer, P. J. McGovern, Modelling the South Pole-Aitken Basin Impact, Nördlingen 2010: The Ries Crater, the Moon, and the Future of Human Space Exploration, abstract 7023, 2010.

Buz, J., and P. McGovern, Venusian volcano shapes: Implications for edifice evolution and the internal thermal state of Venus, Lunar Planet. Sci., 41, 1482, 2010.

Wilkinson, M. J., and McGovern, P. J., Megafans and Paleo-megafans in Amazonis and Northwest Tharsis: Implicatons for Fluvial Processes, Surface Geology, and Spreading of the Olympus Mons Volcano, Lunar Planet. Sci., 41, abstract 2253, 2010.

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Last updated
July 22, 2010