Dr. Roger Wiens
Professor
rwiens@purdue.edu
Curriculum Vitae
Associated website(s):
Current Positions:
- Professor in EAPS with courtesy appointment in Aerospace and Astronautical Engineering
- Senior Fellow of Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)
Research Interests
- Planetary science, with a focus on Mars
- Cosmochemistry: Solar system isotopic and elemental abundances
- Development of instruments, including laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS), Raman, and fluorescence spectroscopy to support the above
Professional Highlights and Educational Background:
- 2017-2020 Team Leader in Space Planetary Exploration Team at LANL
- Since 1997, Scientist in the Space Physics and Remote Sensing Groups at LANL
- 1990-1997, Staff Scientist at Caltech, developing NASA’s Genesis mission
- 1988-1990, Post-doc in geochemistry at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UCSD
- 1988, wrote the first PhD thesis on the Mars atmosphere that used actual samples, trapped in Mars meteorites, University of Minnesota
- 1982, BS in Physics, with high honors, Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois
Mission Experience:
- Genesis Mission: The first mission to robotically return samples from deep space. Genesis collected samples of solar wind for 2.5 years and returned them to Earth in 2004 to significantly improve our understanding of the elemental and isotopic composition of the Sun. Prof. Wiens was in charge of the development of three instruments and was the Flight Payload Lead during the mission. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/genesismission/
- ChemCam on the Curiosity Mars rover: Prof. Wiens was the Principal Investigator of the ChemCam instrument responsible for providing elemental compositions of rocks and soils near the rover using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) at distances up to 7 meters. ChemCam has operated successfully for over ten years, firing one million laser pulses to analyze thousands of targets. https://www.msl-chemcam.com/
- SuperCam on the Perseverance Mars rover: Prof. Wiens is the Principal Investigator of SuperCam, an advanced remote-sensing instrument using LIBS, Raman, visible and infrared spectroscopies, imaging, and acoustics to probe compositions and morphologies of rocks and soils along the Perseverance rover’s path as it collects samples for return to Earth. https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/spacecraft/instruments/supercam/
- SHERLOC on the Perseverance Mars rover: Prof. Wiens is a Co-Investigator on Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman and Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals (SHERLOC), which uses UV Raman and fluorescence spectroscopy from the rover’s arm to search for organic materials on Mars. https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/spacecraft/instruments/sherloc/
Awards:
-
2020, R&D 100 Award and patent, OrganiCam invention;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYUHAzaOKvM
- 2019, Los Alamos National Laboratory Distinguished Performance Award for delivery of SuperCam
- 2017, Fellow, Los Alamos National Laboratory
- 2017, Doctorus Honoris Causa, University of Toulouse
- 2017, Air and Space Academy Vermeil Medal
- 2017, Asteroid 41795 WIENS
- 2016, Chevalier de l’Ordre National des Palmes Academiques (knighted by the office of the Education Ministry of France for forging ties between the French and American academic communities)
- 2016, Chevalier de l’Ordre National Merite (knighted by the office of the Science Minister of France for forging ties between the French and American scientific communities)
- 2015, Los Alamos National Laboratory ISR Division Scientist of the Year
- 2014, NASA Leadership Individual Award, as Principal Investigator of ChemCam
- 2014, NASA Group Achievement Award, for the ChemCam team
- 2013, Los Alamos National Laboratory Distinguished Performance Award, for Mars-time ChemCam operations
- 2012, 2013, Los Alamos National Laboratory Top 10 Science Stories for ChemCam discoveries
- 2011, Los Alamos National Laboratory Top 10 Science Stories for the oxygen isotope composition of the Sun
- 2009, NASA Group Achievement Award, for the Genesis mission
Image credits: LANL