Projects

CHPS leverages the breadth of expertise among its faculty to pursue research that spans planetary interiors, atmospheres, stellar activity, and the geological record of habitability. Below are the center's currently funded projects.

A Community Resource for 3D Exoplanet Cloud ModelsBuilding a publicly available framework for 3D exoplanet cloud modeling to help interpret JWST and other observations.

Environmental Impact of Stellar Ejecta on the Habitable Zones around Sun like Stars

Experimental Investigation of Soot Rich Planets as Potentially Habitable WorldsExploring the "soot line" concept — carbon-rich planets with methane atmospheres similar to Titan that may expand the definition of habitability.

Gas Interaction with Porous Fluffy Dust AggregatesModeling how gas in protoplanetary disks interacts with porous dust aggregates during the earliest stages of planet formation.

Icy Materials at High Pressure and TemperatureInvestigating the behavior of water, ammonia, and methane ices under extreme conditions found inside ice giant planets.

International Collaboration on Stellar Magnetic Activity and Star Planet InteractionsAssessing whether magnetic or tidal interactions between hot Jupiters and their host stars produce observable effects, and how high-energy irradiation drives atmospheric escape.

The Composition of Giant Planets: Confronting Theory with ObservationsConfronting theoretical models of giant planet formation with JWST and Juno/Cassini observations to understand atmospheric metallicity and composition patterns.

The Record of Changes to Global Biogeochemical ProcessesReconstructing how tectonic processes have driven changes in global biogeochemical cycles throughout Earth's history, with implications for planetary habitability.