July 25, 2023 — The Geological Society of America (GSA) has elected Southwest Research Institute’s Dr. Danielle Wyrick as a Fellow, recognizing her exemplary scientific achievements, support of young geoscientists and excellent service to GSA. She has played a significant role in GSA’s Planetary Geology Division leadership and committees.
“During my tenure on the board of GSA’s Planetary Geology Division, we adopted the motto ‘when one planet just isn’t enough,’ which sums up the breadth of challenges we’re taking on,” said Wyrick, a staff scientist in SwRI’s Space Science Division. “It’s also been particularly rewarding to recruit and mentor students and younger members, expanding and diversifying the field over the years. It’s an enormous privilege to be recognized among some of the best scientists in the solar system.”
Wyrick is a planetary geologist whose research includes investigations of terrestrial bodies. She has studied the Earth, Moon, Mars and the dwarf planet Ceres as well as Jupiter’s icy moons Ganymede and Europa and the asteroids Eros and Vesta. Her Martian research involves analyzing fault networks, modeling igneous intrusion and related tectonic processes. Her work on Martian pit crater chains resulted in a new interpretation of these features and subsequent observations on several other planetary bodies. Her research on icy moons includes modeling of Ganymede’s grooved terrain development and fault-impact crater interaction, as well as investigating doming features on the dwarf planet Ceres. Wyrick also researches small solar system bodies, including discrete element modeling of regolith material properties on the asteroid Eros and structural analyses of the planetoid Vesta. She currently serves as a science co-investigator on NASA’s Europa Clipper and Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter missions.
A member of GSA since 2005, Wyrick has served on various committees including as a board member and chair of GSA’s Planetary Geology Division. She has also served on the Independent Review Board for NASA’s Planetary Data Ecosystem, on NASA grant proposal review panels and as a technical reviewer for several journals. Wyrick has authored or coauthored more than 40 papers and technical reports on planetary and structural geology, and she has presented more than 60 abstracts at national and international conferences.
Wyrick received the 2020 Ronald Greeley Distinguished Service Award from GSA’s Planetary Geology Division and the 2004 Pellas-Ryder Award for Best Student Paper for her work on Martian pit crater chains. She received a NASA Early Career Award in 2017. She holds a bachelor’s degree in multidisciplinary science, a master’s in geology, and a doctorate in environmental science and engineering from the University of Texas at San Antonio.
For more information, visit Planetary Science or contact Deb Schmid, +1 210 522 2254, Communications Department, Southwest Research Institute, 6220 Culebra Road, San Antonio, TX 78238-5166.