Gazing at the night sky conjures deep questions about the universe. Meenakshi Wadhwa, professor at the School of Earth and Space Exploration and director of the Center for Meteorite Studies at Arizona State University, invites us to look at the planetary "Rosetta stones" right here on Earth that can give us answers.
Growing up near the foothills of the Himalayas in India, Wadhwa dreamed of becoming a geologist. But as she kept asking bigger and better questions, first as a bachelor’s student in India and then a graduate student in the U.S., it became clear: She didn’t just want to be a geologist; she wanted to become a space geologist, studying meteorites to uncover the mystery of the origins of the Earth.
In her KEDtalk, Wadhwa takes us on her journey of uncovering her purpose, starting as a curious 8-year-old worried about the Earth running out of oxygen to measuring the age of the solar system to near accuracy.
Wadhwa's talk is part of the ASU KEDtalks series. Short for Knowledge Enterprise Development talks, KEDtalks aim to spark ideas, indulge curiosity, and inspire action by highlighting ASU scientists, humanists, social scientists and artists who are driven to find solutions to the universe’s grandest challenges. Tune in monthly to research.asu.edu/kedtalks to discover how the next educational revolution will come about, whether space is the next economic frontier and more.
More Science and technology
Study reveals new details about giant prehistoric otter
In a marshy wetland forest in China 6 million years ago, an otter the size of a wolf appeared to be the top predator. The otter — Siamogale melilutra — weighed nearly 100 pounds, ate mollusks…
Gene editing, extinction and ethics: Why open conversation is key
In a new paper published in Science, researchers are challenging one of conservation’s deepest assumptions — that extinction is always a failure to be avoided.With new genome-editing tools…
ASU’s data science dream team turns big data into big futures
People are overwhelmed. By too many choices when shopping. By too much information at work. By too much parenting advice. And even by too many passwords.The task of helping us sort out what…