Maggie McAdam

Affiliation: NASA Ames Research Center (ARC)

Email: maggie.mcadam@nasa.gov

Professional Biography

Dr. Maggie McAdam (she/her) is a research scientist in the Astrophysics Branch at NASA Ames Research Center. Dr. McAdam joined NASA ARC as the Associate Project Scientist for SOFIA in 2020 and served in that role until SOFIA ceased operations in 2022. Since then, Dr. McAdam has worked on the Asteroid Threat Awareness Project, supporting planetary defense and risk assessment.

Dr. McAdam’s scientific interest focus on understanding the composition and evolutionary history of asteroids and their meteorites. She uses infrared spectroscopy to investigate both meteorites (especially using samples with known bulk mineralogy) and asteroids. Dr. McAdam has worked on using the mid-infrared, in particular, to investigate and characterize asteroids and meteorites that do not have strong near-infrared features, such as C-types and carbonaceous chondrites. Using this spectroscopy expertise, Dr. McAdam is now developing tools to assist in the classification of potentially hazardous asteroids for the purposes of planetary defense

Education

Ph.D. Astronomy, University of Maryland. Thesis title: Water in the Early Solar System: Infrared studies of aqueously altered and minimally processed asteroids.

M.Sc. Astronomy, University of Maryland, MD, USA.

B.A. Mount Holyoke College, MA, USA.

Research Interests

Infrared spectroscopy (near-infrared, mid-infrared, thermal-infrared); asteroids; meteorites; laboratory studies; observational astronomy; planetary defense.

Select Publications

Arredondo, A., McAdam, M.M., Becker, T.M., Elkins-Tanton, L., Landsman, Z. and Müller, T., 2024. Rotationally Resolved Mid-infrared Spectroscopy of (16) Psyche. The Planetary Science Journal, 5(2), p.33.

Arredondo, A., McAdam, M.M., Honniball, C.I., Becker, T.M., Emery, J.P., Rivkin, A.S., Takir, D. and Thomas, C.A., 2024. Detection of Molecular H2O on Nominally Anhydrous Asteroids. The Planetary Science Journal, 5(2), p.37.

McGraw, L.E., Emery, J.P., Thomas, C.A., Rivkin, A.R., Wigton, N.R. and McAdam, M., 2022. 3 μm Spectroscopic Survey of Near-Earth Asteroids. The Planetary Science Journal, 3(10), p.243.

Munger, A., Ritchie, T.S., McAdam, M.M. and Nynka, A.J., 2021. Physical and digital spaces: The intersection of campus climate and technology. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education.

McAdam, M. and Gustafsson, A., 2021. Near-infrared spectroscopy of (93) Minerva with the Lowell discovery telescope+ near-infrared high throughput spectrograph: More evidence for widespread primitive materials. Icarus, 369, p.114592.

McAdam, M.M., Sunshine, J.M., Howard, K.T., Alexander, C.M., McCoy, T.J. and Bus, S.J., 2018. Spectral evidence for amorphous silicates in least-processed CO meteorites and their parent bodies. Icarus, 306, pp.32-49.

McAdam, M.M., Sunshine, J.M., Howard, K.T. and McCoy, T.M., 2015. Aqueous alteration on asteroids: Linking the mineralogy and spectroscopy of CM and CI chondrites. Icarus, 245, pp.320-332.

NASA Missions

SOFIA

Awards & Others

(2023) Spotlight Award (Naseem Rangwala, nominator). Citation: In recognition of leading Cross-AG IDEA working group for the planetary science community.

(2020) NASA Science Directorate Spotlight Award

(2019) Best SOFIA-based PhD Thesis Prize; USRA.

(2015-2017) NASA Earth and Space Sciences Fellowship (NESSF) Recipient.