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astronomy

Jamie Molaro

Jamie Molaro is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Jamie Molaro rather than just read about it. In short: Jamie Molaro (born 1986) is an American planetary scientist and artist. The asteroid 30379 Molaro is named for her.

Key takeaways

  • Jamie Molaro belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
  • Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
  • Connect Jamie Molaro to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
  • Reproduce the core statement of Jamie Molaro from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Jamie Molaro (born 1986) is an American planetary scientist and artist. The asteroid 30379 Molaro is named for her.

Education Molaro grew up in Grass Valley, California. She graduated from Bear River High School in 2004. She attended San Francisco State University, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Physics in 2008. She was awarded the Eden Academic Excellence Award in 2007 and was a Presidential Scholar. She was awarded a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Arizona (UA) in 2015, where she also completed a Master of Science. She also earned a Certificate in College Teaching.

Research In 2015, Molaro joined the Jet Propulsion Laboratory as a NASA Post Doctoral Program fellow, where she was a scientist working on the OSIRIS-REx mission under Paul Hayne. Molaro publishes research regarding the impact of thermal forces on rocks, boulders, and landscapes on airless bodies. As of 2025, she is a research scientist at the Planetary Science Institute.

Awards Earth and Space Science Fellowship, NASA, 2012 Galileo Circle Scholarship, University of Arizona College of Science, 2012 Gerard P. Kuiper Memorial Award, University of Arizona, 2016 Asteroid namesake, 30379 Molaro, International Astronomical Union, 2021 Planetary Science Early Career Award, NASA, 2023 Susan Mahan Niebur Early Career Award, NASA Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute, 2024 Carl Sagan Medal, American Astronomical Society, 2024

Selected publications Molaro, J. L.; Walsh, K. J.; Jawin, E. R.; Ballouz, R.-L.; Bennett, C. A.; DellaGiustina, D. N.; Golish, D. R.; Drouet d’Aubigny, C.; Rizk, B.; Schwartz, S. R.; Hanna, R. D.; Martel, S. J.; Pajola, M.; Campins, H.; Ryan, A. J. (2020-06-09). "In situ evidence of thermally induced rock breakdown widespread on Bennu's surface". Nature Communications. 11 (1). doi:10.1038/s41467-020-16528-7. ISSN 2041-1723. PMC 7283247. PMID 32518333. Molaro, J.L.; Byrne, S.; Le, J.-L. (2017). "Thermally induced stresses in boulders on airless body surfaces, and implications for rock breakdown". Icarus. 294: 247–261. arXiv:1703.03085. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2017.03.008. Molaro, Jamie L.; Byrne, Shane; Langer, Stephen A. (2015). "Grain‐scale thermoelastic stresses and spatiotemporal temperature gradients on airless bodies, implications for rock breakdown". Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets. 120 (2): 255–277. arXiv:1501.05389. doi:10.1002/2014JE004729. ISSN 2169-9097. Molaro, Jamie; Byrne, Shane (2012). "Rates of temperature change of airless landscapes and implications for thermal stress weathering". Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets. 117 (E10). doi:10.1029/2012JE004138. ISSN 0148-0227.

Outreach and science art Molaro founded The Art of Planetary Science, an annual art exhibition, at UA in 2013. In 2015, an art piece inspired by her dissertation won the People's Choice prize. Her work was also exhibited at Michigan State University. She was the co-leader of Mission: AstroAccess, which promotes access to disabled and chronically ill people in the space sciences. This group published a study of possible accessibility accommodations for space flight. She also founded DAIS (Disabled for Accessibility In Space).

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Jamie Molaro

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Jamie Molaro claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Jamie Molaro before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Jamie Molaro ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Jamie Molaro

In research
Jamie Molaro appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry
Engineering practice reuses Jamie Molaro in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom
Jamie Molaro is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1986 births, 21st-century American astronomers, 21st-century American geologists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life
Look for Jamie Molaro outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.
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How to study Jamie Molaro in 20 minutes

  1. Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
  2. Close the page and write down what Jamie Molaro means in your own words.
  3. Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
  4. Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
  5. Explain Jamie Molaro out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Jamie Molaro in simple terms?

Jamie Molaro (born 1986) is an American planetary scientist and artist. The asteroid 30379 Molaro is named for her.

Why does Jamie Molaro matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Jamie Molaro?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Jamie Molaro.

Tags

  • 1986 births
  • 21st-century American astronomers
  • 21st-century American geologists
  • 21st-century American physicists
  • 21st-century American women physicists
  • American women astronomers
  • American women geologists
  • American women planetary scientists
  • Jet Propulsion Laboratory faculty
  • Living people
  • NASA people
  • People from Grass Valley, California

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