Once upon a time
there was a Great Molecular Cloud. This molecular cloud was terribly
cold and so, despite the fact that the cloud billowed up enormous columns
of wispy gas, it was also made up of tiny frozen bits of rock, metal
and ice. These bits came in different flavors because they were born
in very different places in very different times. Some were born out
of the sparks flying from the forge in the heart of a great star and
were quite spicy. Some were the frozen whispers of a lesser celestial
beast and would have been cool and soothing on the tongue. Still others
were products of two things that went bump in the night and could be
quite sour like unsweetened lemonade. And finally there were those that
had been there since the dawn of time and had witnessed first light.
These were slightly bitter like the darkest chocolate. One day the Great
Molecular Cloud decided to bake a solar system. The Great Cloud mixed
together all the very best in bits of rock and metal and ice with just
the right amount of gas for leavening. The amazing thing was how well
the Great Cloud mixed the batter. There was not a lump to be found so
when the solar system was done and cooled, no matter where one nibbled,
the taste was always the same. And it was good... -- or so a cosmochemistry
textbook would say if it were written by a storyteller.
Dr. Kathy Kitts recently received her Ph.D in Cosmochemistry from the
Earth and Planetary Department here at Washington University. She is
currently a post doctoral student working for Dr. Frank Podosek. Her
thesis research involved the determination of the Cr isotopic composition
of the implanted solar wind-bearing component of Apollo 16 lunar soils.
Among her many projects, she is extending her thesis work by examining
other isotopic systems. Before returning to graduate school in the Earth
and Planetary Science Department, she taught high school Science and
French for ten years. During that time, she received a Masters in French
from St. Louis University.
While
pursuing her doctorate, she began teaching as an adjunct instructor
for both the Earth and Planetary Science Department at Washington University
and the Physics and Astronomy Department at the University of Missouri
St. Louis. She has continued in this capacity as a post doc. However,
she did not leave the public school arena entirely. Since 1995, she
has also held the position of the Planetarium and Observatory Director
for the Pattonville School District. (http://nightsky.psdr3.org)