Kevin Hand

{{Short description|Planetary scientist}}

{{Infobox scientist

| name = Kevin Hand

| image = File:KevinHandAtJPL.jpg

| caption = Kevin Hand

| birth_name =

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| nationality = American

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| field = {{Plainlist|

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| doctoral_advisor = Christopher Chyba

| doctoral_students =

| known_for =

| thesis_title = On the physics and chemistry of the ice shell and sub-surface ocean of Europa

| thesis_year = 2007

| thesis_url = https://searchworks.stanford.edu/view/7139232

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}}

Kevin Hand is an astrobiologist and planetary scientist at JPL.{{cite web

| title = Kevin Hand, Planetary Scientist and Astrobiologist

| work = Emerging Explorers

| date = 2011

| publisher = National Geographic

| url = http://www.nationalgeographic.com/field/explorers/kevin-hand/

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110521095543/http://www.nationalgeographic.com/field/explorers/kevin-hand

| url-status = dead

| archive-date = May 21, 2011

| access-date = 2011-08-11

}}

{{cite web | last = Bowermaster | first = Jon | url = http://www.gadling.com/2011/07/27/the-five-explorers-of-the-future/ | title = The five explorers of the future | work = GADLING | publisher = AOL.com |date=July 27, 2011 | access-date = 2011-08-11 }}

He is also the founder of Cosmos Education and was its president until 2007.{{cite news

|newspaper = Nairobi Star; Star Life

|title = Bringing Science Education Down to the Grass Roots

|author = Ravneet Sehmi

|url = http://cosmoseducation.org/kenya/CEK_StarArticle.pdf

|date = 27 August 2008

|access-date = 2011-08-11

|url-status = dead

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100827044508/http://www.cosmoseducation.org/kenya/CEK_StarArticle.pdf

|archive-date = 27 August 2010

}}

He was working at NASA Ames when he was inspired to form Cosmos Education in 1999 after getting a grant from the Earth and Space Foundation to tour African schools to talk about how education relates to space research.{{cite journal

| title = Fostering links between environmental and space exploration: the Earth and Space Foundation

| author1 = Charles Cockell

| author2 = Don White

| author3 = Douglas Messier

| author4 = M. Dale Stokes

| journal = Space Policy

| volume = 18

| issue = 4

| date = 2002

| pages = 301–306

| url = http://www.mpl.ucsd.edu/people/gdeane/outreach/pub.pdfs/earht_and_space.pdf

| access-date = 2011-08-11

| doi = 10.1016/s0265-9646(02)00043-7

| bibcode = 2002SpPol..18..301C

| citeseerx = 10.1.1.536.4575

| archive-date = 2011-09-30

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110930140235/http://www.mpl.ucsd.edu/people/gdeane/outreach/pub.pdfs/earht_and_space.pdf

| url-status = dead

}}{{cite web|publisher=Earth and Space Foundation |title=Earth and Space Awards 1999 |url=http://www.earthandspace.org/1999.htm |date=1999 |access-date=2011-08-13 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111002120132/http://www.earthandspace.org/1999.htm |archive-date=2011-10-02 }}

Education and career

Hand studied psychology and physics as an undergraduate at Dartmouth.{{cite journal

| journal = JPL Science: Planetary ICES: People

| title = Kevin Hand

}}

He earned a master's degree at Stanford University in mechanical engineering while also working as a public policy research associate at Stanford's Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC).{{cite journal

| title = Kevin Hand

| journal = Voices

}}

He chose the question of whether Europa's putative ocean could harbor life as his Geological & Environmental Sciences PhD dissertation topic, under the direction of Christopher Chyba,

earning the doctorate in 2007.

While a PhD student, he was chosen by James Cameron to take marine biology samples from hydrothermal vents in subsea expeditions to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and East Pacific Rise. He was a featured scientist in Cameron's 2005 IMAX documentary, Aliens of the Deep.{{cite journal | title = Kevin Hand | journal = SETI Institute Explorer | date = 2005 }}

At a 2014 NASA panel discussion, Hand predicted that extraterrestrial life would be found within 20 years.connecticut.cbslocal.com/2014/07/15/nasa-humans-will-prove-we-are-not-alone-in-the-universe-within-20-years/{{Cite news | url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/15/we-are-not-alone-in-universe-nasa-habitable-planets_n_5588455.html | title=We Are Not Alone in Universe, NASA Scientists Say| newspaper=Huffington Post| date=2014-07-15| last1=Gates| first1=Sara}}

Hand published the book Alien Oceans in 2020.{{cite news |last1=McLemee |first1=Scott |title=The Oceans of Outer Space |url=https://www.insidehighered.com/views/2020/05/15/review-kevin-peter-hand-alien-oceans-search-life-depths-space |access-date=19 August 2020 |publisher=Inside Higher Ed |date=15 May 2020}}

Selected publications

  • {{cite news | last = Hand | first = Kevin | author-link = Kevin Hand | title = Cosmos Education: Engaging, Empowering, Inspiring | publisher = USA Today | work = Cyberspeak | date = May 12, 2005 | url = https://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/guest/2005-05-12-seti-education_x.htm | access-date = 2011-08-11 }}
  • {{cite journal | author = Kevin Hand | author-link = Kevin Hand | journal = Nature | volume = 457 | issue = 7228 | pages = 384–385 | date = 22 January 2009 | doi = 10.1038/457384a | title = Is there life on Europa?| bibcode = 2009Natur.457..384H | doi-access = free }}, a review of {{cite book|title=Unmasking Europa: The Search for Horses on Jupiter's Ocean plake|author=Richard Greenberg|first=José joão|publisher=Praxis/Springer|date=2008|isbn=978-0-387-47936-1}}

Bibliography

References

{{Reflist}}