Greetings!

Planetary geology is what I affectionately call the more "grounded" of the astronomical sciences. My particular interests involve sample science and using this as a way to groundtruth our remote observations. I believe in an interdisciplinary approach to science, and enjoy working with scientists from multiple fields.

My research at Rutgers involved collecting and processing sample data from lunar meteorites. My thesis created an integrated lunar breccia clast classification system that describes the mineralogy, petrology and lithologies of lunar breccias.

My career goals are working as a geology instructor at the college or university level, or in a laboratory setting proccessing samples from the moon, asteroids, and perhaps even Mars in the near future.

Research

Masters thesis at Rutgers University:
An Integrated Lunar Breccia Clast Classification Scheme

Author: Krys Doran
Project date: 2020-2023
Project description: Masters thesis project wherein I developed a unified scheme for classifying clasts within lunar breccias. This scheme incorporates many previously developed schemes and systems into one unified flow chart, and can be used by other scientists to classify lunar breccia clasts in an internally-consistent way. The system was tested on NWA 10291, NWA 11182, and NWA 11303.


Trace element geochemistry of spodumene megacrystals: A combined portable-XRF and micro-XRF study

Authors: Mona-Liza C Sirbescu, Krys Doran, Victoria A Konieczka, Clara J Brennan, Nigel M Kelly, Tina Hill, Jonathan Knapp, James J Student
Publication date: 2023/3/30
Journal: Chemical Geology
Volume: 621
Publisher: Elsevier


Distrubtion of trace elements in spodumene: Insights from preliminary p-XRF results

Authors: Nolan George Gamet, Krystyna E Doran, James J Student, Mona-Liza Sirbescu
Publication date: 2020/5/19
Conference: GSA North-Central Section-54th Annual Meeting-2020
Publisher: GSA


Trace-element distribution in giant spodumene crystals in granitic pegmatites from the Black Hills, South Dakota and Newry, Maine

Authors: Stephan Hlohowskyj, Mona-Liza Sirbescu, James Student, Niels Hulsbosch, Anthony Chappaz, Krystyna Doran
Publication date: 2019/09/22
Conference: GSA Annual Meeting, Date: 2019/09/22-2019/09/25, Location: Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Volume: 51
Issue: 5