COSAM News Articles 2020 November Doctoral student wins grant from American Geophysical Union

Doctoral student wins grant from American Geophysical Union

Published: 11/17/2020

Pedro Montalvo, a doctoral student in the Department of Geosciences, is the recipient of a virtual student travel grant for the 2020 American Geophysical Union (AGU) conference.

Funding from the AGU grant helps students with educational expenses.

“I am presenting part of my Ph.D. research dissertation titled ‘Spatial Distribution of Water Ice Thickness Implied by Regolith Mixing in Permanently Shaded Regions in the Lunar South Pole’ as a poster in this virtual conference,” Montalvo said.

At the University of Puerto Rico, Montalvo earned both his Master of Science in Geology and his Bachelor of Science in Geology.

“I have published one first-author peer-reviewed article and have two co-authored peer-reviewed articles, in addition to multiple conference abstracts from different conferences including the Geological Society of America and Lunar, Planetary Science Conference and the Meteoritical Society,” he added.

His research interests include both meteorite impacts and planetary geology.

Montalvo’s advisors are Masatoshi Hirabayashi in the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering and adjunct in the Department of Geosciences, and David King in the Department of Geosciences.

“I am very proud of Mr. Montalvo's accomplishment; he is the first person in our department to ever earn this honor,” said David King.

Masatoshi Hirabayashi shares his insight about how this conference inspires Montalvo to make an impact.

“The AGU meeting is the largest conference in geosciences in the world, and there are many scientifically critical discussions taken place. I am believing that this award not only encourages Pedro to join exciting sessions but also motivates students and early career scientists to be part of discussions about ongoing cutting-edge innovations in the geoscience field,” said Hirabayashi.