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I am currently a Post-Doctoral Fellow in the NASA Post-doctoral Program at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. My research focuses on the formation and evolution of planetary systems, with the specific goal of understanding the factors that determine whether a system can form habitable planets and what the characteristics of these planets will be.

My primary research avenues are two-pronged: simulating terrestrial planet formation with increasing chemical and dynamical complexity, while improving observations of exo-planets and protoplanetary disks to constrain their properties. Descriptions of current and past research projects can be found on the sub-pages listed on the left.

I love discussing my work, and astrobiology and planetary formation in general, so if you have any questions or requests for more information don't hesitate to write!

Contact Information

NASA GSFC
Code 693.0
Greenbelt, MD 20771
Email: Avi.Mandell (at) nasa.gov

Education

Ph.D., The Pennsylvania State University, Astronomy and Astrophysics,
  Dual Title in Astrobiology, 2007
B.A., Vassar College, Physics and Astronomy, 1999

Professional Appointments

NASA Post-doctoral Fellow, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, 2007 - Present

Near-IR spectroscopy of gas in circumstellar disks; preparations for NIR spectroscopic observations of exo-planet atmospheres; simulations of terrestrial planet formation in diverse system architectures

Graduate Assistant, Penn State University / NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, 2001 - 2007

Near-IR spectroscopy of gas in circumstellar disks; simulations of planet formation in planetary systems with migrating giant planets; high-resolution spectroscopic searches for signatures of planet infall in exo-planet host stars

Pre-Doctoral Research/Teaching Fellow, Yale University, 1999 - 2001

Wide-field photometric search for transiting planets in old metal-rich open clusters

Selected Publications

Mandell, A. M., Mumma, M. J., Blake, G. A., Bonev, B. P., Villanueva, G. L., & Salyk, C. "Discovery of OH in Circumstellar Disks around Young Intermediate-Mass Stars". 2008, ApJL, 681, L25.

Mandell, A. M. "Expanding and Improving the Search for Habitable Worlds". 2008, Astronomical Society of the Pacific Conference Series, 393, 19

Mandell, A. M., Raymond, S. N., & Sigurdsson, S. "Formation of Earth-like Planets During and After Giant Planet Migration". 2007, ApJ, 660, 823.

Raymond, S. N. & Mandell, A. M. (co-primary author), & Sigurdsson, S. "Exotic Earths: Forming Habitable Worlds with Giant Planet Migration". 2006, Science, 313, 1413

Mandell, A. M., Ge, J., & Murray, N. "A Search for ⁶Li in Lithium-poor Stars With Planets". 2004, AJ, 127, 1147.

Mandell, A. M. & Sigurdsson, S. "Survival of Terrestrial Planets in the Habitable Zone in the Presence of Giant Planet Migration". 2003, ApJL, 599, L111.

Full ADS Citation List

Professional Activities

Member, American Astronomical Society, Division of Planetary Sciences
Member, SOC, NASA Astrobiology Inst. FAR Seminar Series
Session Chair, Astrobiology Science Conference 2008
Member, Astrobiology Society Founding Committee
Chair, Organizing Committee, Astrobiology Graduate Conference
NSF Undergraduate Research Selection Committee Member