April 27, 2015
When it comes to solving social issues, BYU has plenty of ideas worth spreading.
Provo once again had the opportunity to celebrate the most innovative minds in Utah Valley on April 9 at TEDxBYU, hosted and organized by the BYU Ballard Center. Audience members heard “infectious ideas” on subjects such as driverless cars, global poverty alleviation, social entrepreneurship, and compassion.
The lineup of speakers included Jani Radebaugh, an associate professor in the Department of Geological Sciences, who spoke on using exploration to increase our knowledge of the Solar System. She is the first scientist to be invited to speak at TEDxBYU.
Radebaugh is a planetary scientist, who researches the shapes and origins of landscapes in our solar system. Because it is difficult to understand landscapes in space, and we have limited information, Radebaugh studies similar geological features on Earth’s surface to gain insight into how the same physical processes might have occurred on other planets.
Over her career, she has done fieldwork in such places as the Egyptian Sahara, the Arabian Peninsula, the Ethiopian Afar Rift Valley, Hawaii, the desert southwestern US, and Antarctica. Currently, her research focuses on the geological features on Saturn’s moon Titan and Jupiter’s moon Io. Radebaugh uses images obtained from orbiting spacecraft to better understand the physical landscapes of these moons.
A graduate of the College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences herself, Radebaugh earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from BYU and her PhD at the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory.
Radebaugh began her talk by recounting a recent expedition to Erta Ale, a large basaltic shield volcano in northern Ethiopia. Accompanied by her Ethiopian guide, who was carrying an AK-47 on his shoulder and had a belt of hand grenades around his waist, Radebaugh and her team of travelers made it to the top of the volcanic mountain to view a large lava lake in the center of the volcano.
“The smell of rotten eggs is my favorite smell because I know I’m either on a volcano or near a hot springs,” Radebaugh joked.
Many have asked her why she would make such a dangerous journey just to stand on top of a live volcano. The first reason, Radebaugh said, is her love of adventure.
“We explore and endure and maybe even enjoy the journey so we can make discoveries,” she said.
Radebaugh applied the knowledge she gained about volcanoes and lava lakes from Erta Ale to better understand Jupiter’s moon Io, which is also covered in active volcanoes. Scientists can also use their knowledge of physical processes on Io to better understand physical processes on Earth and throughout the solar system.
“When we prioritize exploration, then we are inspired, and new and exciting discoveries can occur,” she said.
Similarly, Saturn’s moon Titan has an atmosphere that is so cold that the methane on its surface is contained in a liquid sea called Kraken Mare, similar to Earth’s oceans. Titan also has sand dunes and deserts that can be better understood through the study of Earth’s great deserts.
In our search for knowledge, Radebaugh reminded her audience to allow their goals and understanding to change over time with experience.
“We must remain open minded so we can be ready to discover whatever is there for us to see,” she said. “Our own Earth has many more secrets waiting for our discovery.”