• Jukna-Parsons, Levben
  • Position: PhD Candidate
  • Office: Wright Labs Room 336
  • Research Interests: Petrology, Geochemistry, Planetary Science
  • Lev_Parsons_CV.pdf

Research Interests

  • Planetary science
  • Petrology
  • Volatile and redox budgets
  • Habitability

Education

  • Rutgers University, NJ (2022 - Present)
    • Current PhD student in Earth and Planetary Sciences
    • Advisor: Ben Black
  • City College of New York, NY
    • Master of Science Degree in Physics
  • Teachers College, Columbia University, NY
    • Master of Arts Degree in Physics Education
  • Cornell University, NY
    • Bachelor of Arts Degree in Astronomy
    • Advisor: Martha Haynes
    • Mellons Mays Fellowship Thesis:The Influence of Local Environment on the Relation Between Stars,
      Gas, and Rotational Velocity in Disk Galaxies.

Fellowships, Awards, (Workshops)

  • Guest Investigator, Dragonfly (Titan) Mission (2024 - 2026)
  • GEM Fellowship, The National GEM Consortium (2024 - 2027)
  • William and Grace Sparks Graduate Student Research Award, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ (2024)
  • PreDoctoral Leadership Development Academy Fellow, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ (2023 - 2024)
  • Scientist-In-Residence, New York Academy Of Sciences, NYC (2022 - 2024)
  • (NASA Astrobiology Mission Ideation Factory), NASA Goddard, Greenbelt, MD (2023)
  • Sloan STAR Fellowship, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NY (2023) 
  • (Catalyzing Advocacy in Science and Engineering), AAAS, Washington DC (2023)
  • Dean's Fellowship, , Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ (2022 - 2023)
  • Zahn Center Start-Up Fellow and Prize Winner, City College of New York, New York, NY (2020-2021)
  • Mellon Mays Fellowship, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY (2008-2009)
  • REU Research Fellow, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI (2007)

Select Publications, Presentations

  • Parsons, L., Black, B., Karunatillake, S., (2025). ‘Sulfur in Martian magmas from sulfur content at
    sulfide saturation applied to regional chemical maps’, Icarus, 116491, ISSN 0019-1035,
    Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2025.116491.
    • Presented at The American Geophysical Union Conference, Washington, DC (2024, Oral Presentation)
    • Presented at The Geological Society of America Conference, Pittsburgh, PA (2023, Poster Presentation)
  • Parsons, L., Black, B., (2024). The Redox Budget of Mars, Presented at The Astrobiology Graduate
    Conference, Ithaca, NY (Oral Presentation)
  • Parsons, L., Eguchi, J., Hickey, J., Simon, A., Black, B., (2024). Sulfur Emissions from the Central Atlantic
    Magmatic Province from glassy Melt Inclusions, Presented at The Geological Society of America
    Northeastern Section Meeting Manchester, NH (Poster Presentation)