Dr. Britney Schmidt

Biography

Britney Schmidt joined the faculty of the Astronomy and Earth & Atmospheric Sciences at Cornell University. Before this, she spent 8 years as a professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Her research involves the development of robotic tools and instruments for spacecraft to study planets. Schmidt's team focuses on exploring Earth’s ice shelves, glaciers, and oceans to understand the impacts of climate change on the cryosphere, and they study analogs of Ocean Worlds, such as Jupiter’s moon Europa. She has been involved in various NASA missions, including the Dawn mission, Europa Clipper, and the Europa Lander. Additionally, Schmidt has conducted seven field seasons in Antarctica and the Arctic, leading large-scale science and technology programs. Her team's recent projects include the deployment of the Icefin vehicle and the exploration of the McMurdo and Ross Ice Shelves, including the NASA project RISE, which studies the rapidly changing Thwaites Glacier. She will be joining a symposium at the end of a campaign to explore ground ice water Pingos in the Arctic, which are features that may represent future water resources on Mars and asteroids.

Research Interests

Experience