astronomy

Stephen J. Mackwell

Stephen J. Mackwell 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 Stephen J. Mackwell rather than just read about it. In short: Stephen J. Mackwell is a researcher in geophysics, specializing in laboratory-based studies of the physical, chemical and mechanical properties of geological materials.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Stephen J. Mackwell is a researcher in geophysics, specializing in laboratory-based studies of the physical, chemical and mechanical properties of geological materials. He is also interested in the transport of fluid components in mantle and crustal rocks on the microscopic and macroscopic scales, and on the effects of such components on mechanical properties. He has authored or co-authored over 80 articles in international scientific journals and is an editor of a book on comparative climatology of terrestrial planets published by the University of Arizona Press. Mackwell has been an adjunct professor in the Department of Geology at the University of Maryland - College Park since 2022, in the Department of Earth Science at Rice University in Houston, Texas since 2005, and in the Department of Earth Science at the University of Minnesota from 2021 to 2022. He has served on the editorial board of several geological and planetary science journals, including serving as editor-in-chief for the journal Geophysical Research Letters from 2002 to 2004. He served on the advisory board for the journal Physics and Chemistry of Minerals from 1996 to 2004. Mackwell has participated in the 2013–2022 Planetary Science Decadal Survey Steering Group and Inner Planets Panel. From 2018 until 2025, he was a member of the Space Studies Board, Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences, of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the American Friends of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and is a member of the Board of Governors for the Cosmos Club and a Board Fellow for the Cosmos Club Foundation. He is the 2nd Vice President of the Geological Society of Washington.

Education Stephen J. Mackwell received a B.Sc. in Physics and Mathematics in August 1978 at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand. He continued his studies at the University of Canterbury and earned his M.Sc. in Physics in August 1979. His master's thesis was titled "Excitation Temperatures for Late Type Stars." He went on to receive his Diploma of Education at Christchurch Teachers College in New Zealand in November 1979. He earned his Ph.D. in Geophysics in March 1985 from the Research School of Earth Sciences of the Australian National University, Canberra, Australia. His dissertation was titled "Diffusion and Weakening Effects of Water in Quartz and Olivine."

Early career Stephen J. Mackwell worked as a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, from 1984 to 1987, and then moved to the Pennsylvania State University in University Park, Pennsylvania, as an assistant professor in 1987 and subsequently associate professor of geosciences in 1992. He was program director for geophysics in the Earth Sciences Division at the National Science Foundation in Washington, D.C., from 1993 to 1994, and spent 1996 as an Alexander von Humboldt Fellow at the Bayerisches Geoinstitut in Bayreuth, Germany. In 1998, Mackwell became a full professor for experimental geophysics at the Bayerisches Geoinstitut at the University of Bayreuth. In January 2000 he was appointed director of the Bayerisches Geoinstitut and served there until December 2002.

Director of the Lunar and Planetary Institute Mackwell returned to the United States in late 2002 as director of the Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI) in Houston, Texas, a division of the Universities Space Research Association (USRA). In addition, Mackwell managed USRA's Houston facility and education programs including the NASA Internships Program and the Air Force Research Laboratory Intern Program. In 2016, Louise Prockter became the Director of the LPI, and Mackwell was named as the USRA Corporate Director of Science Programs.

American Institute of Physics From February 2019 until June 2021, Mackwell served as the Deputy Executive Officer of the American Institute of Physics in College Park, MD.

National Science Foundation From April 2022 to March 2025, Mackwell served as the Section Head for Disciplinary Programs and subsequently Deputy Division Director (Acting) in the Division of Earth Sciences of the Geosciences Directorate at the National Science Foundation in Alexandria, VA.

Honors Stephen J. Mackwell received a Director's Award for Superior Accomplishment from the National Science Foundation in 2023. He was named Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2017; Fellow of the American Geophysical Union in 2010; Stipendiat der Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung in Bayreuth, Germany in 1996; Ministère de L'Education Nationale, Academie de Lille, Nommé Professeur in 1996; and Fellow of the Mineralogical Society of America in 1996. In 2016, Mackwell was honored by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) with the naming of main-belt asteroid 5292 Mackwell (formerly designated as 1991 AJ1). Hitoshi Shiozawa and Minoru Kizawa originally discovered asteroid 5292 Mackwell on January 12, 1991, in Fujieda, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. 5292 Mackwell has an absolute magnitude of 11.9 and is part of the main asteroid belt, which is located between the orbits of planets Mars and Jupiter.

Bibliography Mackwell S. J., Simon-Miller A. A., Harder J. W., and Bullock M. A., eds. (2013) Comparative Climatology of Terrestrial Planets. University of Arizona Press, Tucson, AZ. 592 pp. Demouchy S. and Mackwell S. (2006) Mechanisms of hydrogen incorporation and diffusion in iron-bearing olivine. Physics and Chemistry of Minerals, 33, 347, doi:10.1007/s00269-006-0081-2. Mackwell S. J., Zimmerman M. E., and Kohlstedt D. L. (1998) High-temperature deformation of dry diabase with application to tectonics on Venus. Journal of Geophysical Research–Solid Earth, 103(B1), 975–984, doi:10.1029/97JB02671. Kohlstedt D. L., Evans B., and Mackwell S. J. (1995) Strength of the lithosphere: Constraints imposed by laboratory experiments. Journal of Geophysical Research–Solid Earth, 100(B9), 17587–17602, doi:10.1029/95JB01460.

References

External links Lunar and Planetary Institute: Dr. Stephen Mackwell https://www.geol.umd.edu/stephenmackwell

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Stephen J. Mackwell

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Stephen J. Mackwell 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 Stephen J. Mackwell 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 Stephen J. Mackwell 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 Stephen J. Mackwell

In research: Stephen J. Mackwell 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 Stephen J. Mackwell 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: Stephen J. Mackwell is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1956 births, Academic staff of the University of Bayreuth, Australian National University alumni, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Stephen J. Mackwell 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 Stephen J. Mackwell in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Stephen J. Mackwell means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
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Frequently asked questions

What is Stephen J. Mackwell in simple terms?

Stephen J. Mackwell is a researcher in geophysics, specializing in laboratory-based studies of the physical, chemical and mechanical properties of geological materials.

Why does Stephen J. Mackwell 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 Stephen J. Mackwell?

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 Stephen J. Mackwell.