Katie Stack Morgan

Stack Morgan grew up in California, but spent summers in Maine.{{Cite news |last=Acquisto |first=Alex |date=2017-03-30 |title=Scientists are naming locations on Mars after iconic Maine towns, landmarks |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/sun-journal-scientists-are-naming-locati/162762886/ |access-date=2025-01-11 |work=Sun-Journal |pages=B2}} She received her bachelor's degree from Williams College in 2008, and went on to earn an M.Sc. (2011) and a Ph.D. (2015) from the California Institute of Technology.{{Cite web |last=Morgan |first=Kathryn Stack |title=JPL Science: Kathryn Stack Morgan |url=https://science.jpl.nasa.gov/people/stackmorgan/ |access-date=2024-04-11 |website=science.jpl.nasa.gov |language=en}}

Stack Morgan has been involved in Mars exploration efforts since 2014. Her work as a Research Scientist in the Geophysics and Planetary Geosciences Group at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, has been centered on expanding our knowledge of Mars' geology and planetary sciences. She has also been actively involved with the Mars Science Laboratory mission concurrently, serving as a Participating Scientist until 2022 after serving as a Collaborator in the Science Office from 2012 to 2015. She has also been involved in the development and implementation of the Mars 2020 Rover Mission, an ambitious project that aims to solve the secrets of the Red Planet, as the Deputy Project Scientist since 2017.{{Cite news |last=Overbye |first=Dennis |date=2021-02-19 |title=Perseverance's Pictures From Mars Show NASA Rover's New Home |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/19/science/mars-nasa-landing-pictures.html?searchResultPosition=1 |access-date=2025-01-11 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} Her work on the Mars project includes working with images from the Curiosity rover{{Cite news |last=Kelly |first=Emre |date=2017-09-24 |title=We're already walking on Mars |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/las-cruces-sun-news-were-already-walkin/162756816/ |access-date=2025-01-11 |work=Las Cruces Sun-News |pages=P0}} and examining rocks to determine if they have potential biosignatures.{{Cite news |last=Achenbach |first=Joel |date=2024-07-28 |title=Rover discovers rock with 'potential biosignature' |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-atlanta-constitution-rover-discovers/162763123/ |access-date=2025-01-11 |work=The Atlanta Constitution |pages=A7}} As part of her work, Stack Morgan also names geographical places on Mars.{{Cite news |last=Brean |first=Henry |date=2014-11-30 |title=Nevada town a place-name --on Mars |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/reno-gazette-journal-nevada-town-a-place/162763039/ |access-date=2025-01-11 |work=Reno Gazette-Journal |pages=A10}}

Stack Morgan was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in 2013.{{Cite web |title=Katie Stack |url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/katie-stack/ |access-date=2025-01-11 |website=Forbes |language=en}} She has received multiple NASA Group Achievement Award that were given to the Mars Science Laboratory spanning from 2013, 2015, and 2017. Her contributions to the Mars 2020 Project have been recognized with a series of Voyager Awards spanning from 2018 to 2021. In 2022 she received a NASA Early Career Achievement Medal (2022).{{Cite web |title=Office of Research and Development (ORD) {{!}} Profile Kathryn M. Stack Morgan |url=https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/site/research/stack/ |access-date=2025-01-11 |website=www.jpl.nasa.gov}}{{Better source needed|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable (WP:NOTRS).|date=January 2025}} She received the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Edward Stone Award for Outstanding Research Publication in 2021{{Cite web |title=The Edward Stone Award Recipients {{!}} Science and Technology |url=https://scienceandtechnology.jpl.nasa.gov/community/awards-achievements/edward-stone-award-outstanding-research-publication/edward-stone-award |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241221062613/https://scienceandtechnology.jpl.nasa.gov/community/awards-achievements/edward-stone-award-outstanding-research-publication/edward-stone-award |archive-date=2024-12-21 |access-date=2025-01-11 |website=scienceandtechnology.jpl.nasa.gov |language=en |url-status=live }} for her 2018 paper in the journal Sedimentology.{{Cite journal |last1=Stack |first1=Kathryn M. |last2=Grotzinger |first2=John P. |last3=Lamb |first3=Michael P. |last4=Gupta |first4=Sanjeev |last5=Rubin |first5=David M. |last6=Kah |first6=Linda C. |last7=Edgar |first7=Lauren A. |last8=Fey |first8=Deirdra M. |last9=Hurowitz |first9=Joel A. |last10=McBride |first10=Marie |last11=Rivera-Hernández |first11=Frances |last12=Sumner |first12=Dawn Y. |last13=Van Beek |first13=Jason K. |last14=Williams |first14=Rebecca M. E. |last15=Aileen Yingst |first15=Robin |date=2019 |title=Evidence for plunging river plume deposits in the Pahrump Hills member of the Murray formation, Gale crater, Mars |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/sed.12558 |journal=Sedimentology |language=en |volume=66 |issue=5 |pages=1768–1802 |doi=10.1111/sed.12558 |issn=1365-3091|hdl=10044/1/71198 |hdl-access=free }}

• {{cite journal |last1=Stack |first1=K. M. |last2=Grotzinger |first2=J. P. |last3=Milliken |first3=R. E. |title=Bed thickness distributions on Mars: An orbital perspective |journal=Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets |date=June 2013 |volume=118 |issue=6 |pages=1323–1349 |doi=10.1002/jgre.20092 |bibcode=2013JGRE..118.1323S |url=https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20131106-111157231 }}
• {{cite journal |last1=Stack |first1=K. M. |last2=Grotzinger |first2=J. P. |last3=Kah |first3=L. C. |last4=Schmidt |first4=M. E. |last5=Mangold |first5=N. |last6=Edgett |first6=K. S. |last7=Sumner |first7=D. Y. |last8=Siebach |first8=K. L. |last9=Nachon |first9=M. |last10=Lee |first10=R. |last11=Blaney |first11=D. L. |last12=Deflores |first12=L. P. |last13=Edgar |first13=L. A. |last14=Fairén |first14=A. G. |last15=Leshin |first15=L. A. |last16=Maurice |first16=S. |last17=Oehler |first17=D. Z. |last18=Rice |first18=M. S. |last19=Wiens |first19=R. C. |title=Diagenetic origin of nodules in the Sheepbed member, Yellowknife Bay formation, Gale crater, Mars: Diagenetic Nodules in Gale Crater |journal=Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets |date=July 2014 |volume=119 |issue=7 |pages=1637–1664 |doi=10.1002/2014JE004617 |url=https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20200828-150727637 }}
• {{cite journal |last1=Stack |first1=K.M. |last2=Milliken |first2=R.E. |title=Modeling near-infrared reflectance spectra of clay and sulfate mixtures and implications for Mars |journal=Icarus |date=April 2015 |volume=250 |pages=332–356 |doi=10.1016/j.icarus.2014.12.009 |bibcode=2015Icar..250..332S }}
• {{cite book |doi=10.3133/sim3464 |chapter=Geologic map of Jezero crater and the Nili Planum region, Mars |title=Scientific Investigations Map |date=2020 |last1=Sun |first1=Vivian Z. |last2=Stack |first2=Kathryn M. }}

{{Reflist}}

• {{Cite podcast |url=https://appel.nasa.gov/podcast/episode-52-mars-perseverance-rover-science/ |title=EPISODE 52: MARS PERSEVERANCE ROVER SCIENCE |website=Academy of Program/Project & Engineering Leadership (APPEL) Knowledge Services}}
• {{YouTube|id=z6xUAp3J4Tw|title=Sign in

Meet NASA's Katie Stack Morgan, Mars 2020 Deputy Proj. Scientist—Behind the Spacecraft Live Q&A}}

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