Courtney M. L. Batterson
Associate Research Scientist
Affiliation: Bay Area Environmental Research Institute (BAERI)
Division: Space Science and Astrobiology Division (ST)
Branch: Planetary Systems Branch (STT)
Email: courtney.m.batterson@nasa.gov
Phone: 650-604-0489
Personal Websites: GitHub | BAER Biography
Read Courtney Batterson‘s Interview
Professional Biography
I have been researching as a member of the Mars Climate Modeling Center (MCMC) at NASA Ames since 2016. My career has grown from an undergraduate internship under Dr. Melinda Kahre into a full-time position as a research scientist. I graduated from Creighton University in 2017 with a B.S. in Environmental Science and have since earned an M.S. in Meteorology at SJSU under Drs. Alison Bridger (SJSU) and Melinda Kahre (NASA). My work is two-fold: my research concerns the physics and dynamics of Martian dust storms, and my technical work includes co-developing the Community Analysis Pipeline (CAP), a software tool for working with Mars Global Climate Model data. In my free time, I enjoy golfing along the California coast with my lifelong partner, Alex, snuggling up with a good book, and taking long walks with my pup, Mabel.
Education
M.S. Meteorology, San Jose State University 2021 (Thesis: Observational Analysis and Modeling of the “B” Regional Dust Storm on Mars)
B.S. Environmental Science, Creighton University 2017 (Minors: Communication, Meteorology)
Research Interests
Planetary atmospheres, dust storms (Mars), severe weather (Earth), paleoclimate, numerical
Select Publications
Kahre, M.A., Haberle, R.M., Wilson, R.J., Urata, R.A., Steakley, K.E., Brecht, A.S., Bertrand, T., Kling, A.L.M., Batterson, C.M.L., Hartwick, V., Harman, C.E., & Gkouvelis, L. (2023). The NASA Ames legacy Mars global climate model: Radiation code error correction and new baseline water cycle simulation. Icarus, 400. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2023.115561
Batterson, C.M.L., Kahre, M.A., Bridger, A.F.C., Wilson, R.J., Urata, R.A., & Bertrand, T. (2023). Modeling the “B” regional dust storm on Mars: Dust lofting mechanisms predicted by the new NASA Ames Mars GCM. Icarus, 400. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2023.115542
Kahre, M.A., Haberle, R.M., Wilson, R.J., Urata, R.A., Steakley, K.E., Brecht, A.S., Bertrand, T., Kling, A.L.M., Batterson, C.M.L., Hartwick, V.L., & Harman, C.E. (2023). The NASA Ames legacy Mars global climate model: Radiation code error correction and new baseline water cycle simulation. Icarus, 400. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2023.115561
Batterson, C.M.L. (2021). Observational analysis and modeling of the “B” regional dust storm on Mars. Master’s Theses, SJSU Scholarworks, 5174. doi:https://doi.org/10.31979/etd.tfdn-ykx7
Batterson, C.M.L. (2015). “Feminism” and feminism: A rhetorical criticism of Emma Watson’s address to the United Nations. Quest: A Journal of Undergraduate Research, 5. pp. 1-12. doi:10.17062/qjur.v5.i1.p1
Awards & Others
Invited Talk: Processes in the Present Day Atmosphere of Mars (AGU Fall Meeting) 2022
Monteverdi Scholarship Winner 2019 – 2020
Invited Talk: Data Women Coffee (San Francisco Meetup) August 2018
Invited Talk: SAP SV WiDS Conference March 2018
Outstanding Research in Environmental Science 2016 – 2017
Communication Studies Minor of the Year 2016 – 2017
Paul W. Douglas Scholarship 2016 – 2017
Mark & Karen Rauenhorst Scholarship 2016 – 2017
Outstanding Paper of the Year 2015 – 2016
Freshman Presidential Scholar 2013 – 2014