Dr. Lindy Elkins Tanton

Professor

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Biography

Lindy Elkins-Tanton is the Principal Investigator of the NASA Psyche mission and serves as the Director of the UC Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory. She co-founded Beagle Learning, a tech company focused on training in collaborative problem solving and critical thinking. Her research primarily concerns the formation and evolution of terrestrial planetary systems, and she actively promotes inquiry-based exploration learning. Elkins-Tanton has held faculty positions at Brown University and MIT, and was the director of the Carnegie Institution for Science at Arizona State University before joining UC Berkeley. She has led four field expeditions in Siberia, co-chaired a forthcoming National Academy of Sciences report on the science strategy for human exploration of Mars, and served on the Mars 2020 Rover Science Definition Team and Europa Clipper Standing Review Board. In 2010, she received the Explorers Club Lowell Thomas prize and in 2013, she was named an Astor Fellow at Oxford University. Elkins-Tanton is a published author, co-authoring the book

Research Interests

Experience

Professor

— Present

University of California, Berkeley • Berkeley, CA

Professor and Director of the Space Sciences Laboratory, leading research in planetary science.

Awards

#

Lowell Thomas Prize

#

Astor Fellow

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Elected Fellow

Requirements for University of California, Berkeley

Doctorate Program
Requirements
GPA Requirement
Required:3
GRE Subject
Overall Score
Required:500
Overall
Required:500
TOEFL
Total
Required:90
IELTS
Overall
Required:7
Prerequisites
Bachelor's degree or recognized equivalent Preparation comparable to undergraduate major at Berkeley in Mathematics or Applied Mathematics 2 full years lower-division work (Calculus, Linear Algebra, Differential Equations, Multivariable Calculus) 8 one-semester upper-division courses (Real Analysis, Complex Analysis, Abstract Algebra, Linear Algebra)
Application Checklist
  • Graduate Application
  • Statement of Purpose
  • Personal History Statement
  • Three Letters of Recommendation
  • Unofficial Transcripts
  • C.V./Resume
  • Course and Textbook List
Specialization Notes

The Mathematics Subject GRE is required for the Fall 2026 admissions cycle. General GRE is optional.