Dr. James Haber is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Center for Earth and Planetary Studies where he utilizes remote sensing to study planetary geology. James uses spectroscopy to identify alteration minerals, which formed in the presence of water, that help constrain the timing, chemistry, and duration of surface water on Mars. James works with data from rovers, orbiters, and Earth analogs to study the history of rock-water interactions on Mars and to better understand how Mars’ climate changed over time and enable the search for past and present life within our solar system.

James earned his BA in Physics with minors in Astronomy and Mechanical Engineering in 2018 from Cornell University. During his undergrad, he studied the breakdown of rocks on the lunar surface at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and analyzed trajectories for the Europa Clipper mission. James completed his PhD at Purdue University in 2023 where he was a member on both the Perseverance and Curiosity rover science research team.