Timothy Glotch joined the Stony Brook Geosciences faculty as an Assistant Professor in September, 2007. He received a B. A. from Colgate University and his Ph.D. from Arizona State University. Prior to joining the Stony Brook faculty, he had postdoctoral research positions at Arizona State University and the California Institute of Technology.

Dr. Glotch's research interests are currently focused on two broad areas: (1) understanding the role of water in shaping the surface of Mars—in terms of both mineralogy and geomorphology, and (2) comparing laboratory and remotely acquired spectroscopic data and the application of these methods for solving various problems in Earth, planetary, and space science. Dr. Glotch's dissertation research was an interdisciplinary work that combined laboratory and remote spectral analysis, photogeologic, and theoretical methods to understand the formation of crystalline hematite deposits on Mars. During his dissertation and postdoctoral research, he was involved with the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission as a Mini-TES team member and payload downlink lead and as a Mineralogy and Geochemistry Science Theme Group lead for the Opportunity rover.

Current research projects include 1) Using laboratory infrared spectroscopy to determine the real and imaginary indices of refraction for several classes of minerals, including olivine, pyroxene, feldspar, and iron oxides. These measurements use polarized reflected or emitted light and oriented single crystals to determine the end-member spectral components that are responsible for a bulk mineral spectrum. 2) Laboratory and remote sensing investigation of chloride salt deposits on Mars. Chloride salts are evaporite minerals that could be indicative of ancient playa-like environments on Mars. This class of minerals has unique infrared spectral properties that require indirect detection methods. Because little is known about how the presence of chloride salts affects the spectral signature of other materials, a laboratory spectroscopic investigation is underway to determine the spectral properties of salt-regolith mixtures. 3) Remote sensing investigations of specific regions on Mars related to the past presence of liquid water. These studies make use of data from several investigations, including thermal infrared and visible/near-IR spectrometers and cameras. Dr. Glotch uses spectroscopic information is used to determine the mineralogic constituents of the Martian surface and geomorphologic information from imagers to determine the history of liquid water at interesting sites on Mars. These include Meridiani Planum, the landing site of the MER Opportunity rover, the equatorial chaotic terrains, where water once catastrophically erupted from the subsurface carving huge channels, and Mawrth Vallis and Holden Crater, which are two potential landing sites for the 2009 Mars Science Laboratory.

For further information, please see Dr. Glotch's faculty webpage.