On Sunday November 4th, Janice Bishop, Senior Research Scientist and Chair of the Astrobiology Group at the SETI Institute, was honored as a new Fellow of the Geological Society of America at their 130th annual meeting.

According to the GSA website, “GSA members are nominated by existing GSA Fellows in recognition of their distinguished contributions to the geosciences through such avenues as publications, applied research, teaching, administration of geological programs, contributing to the public awareness of geology, leadership of professional organizations, and taking on editorial, bibliographic, and library responsibilities.”

Bishop’s research uses spectroscopy to characterize and understand how rocks and clays on Mars were formed, providing insights about the environment on ancient Mars. Bishop’s work also takes her to Mars analog environments on Earth, such as Hawai’i and Western Australia.

Janice also presented a paper, "Reaction of CA sulfates and chlorides in the Martian near surface to create sinkholes and debris flows", during the conference.