Education: PhD Chemistry
Other Affiliations: School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University
Contact: kirt.robinson@bmsis.org
Links: LinkedIn
Kirtland Robinson is an Assistant Research Scientist at Arizona State University whose research explores the potential for life to inhabit planetary environments and leave traces behind for us to discover. His work focuses especially on icy ocean worlds such as Europa and Enceladus, for which he develops strategies involving chemical tracers to reconstruct otherwise inaccessible subsurface conditions including temperature, pressure pH, redox state, and water-rock chemistry. He is also a Professional Science Team Affiliate with the MASPEX investigation on NASA’s Europa Clipper mission and a Research Investigator with Blue Marble Space.
His research combines laboratory experiments, thermodynamic and kinetic modeling, and analytical chemistry to study planetary habitability, prebiotic chemistry, and life detection. His current projects examine the time it takes for chemical tracers to "lock-on" to geochemical signals, how those signals might get erased or lost during dynamic processes (e.g., freezing or exsolution of volatiles), and separately, how amino acid chemistry can preserve signatures of life. His other areas of research include Earth-based hydrothermal systems, organic carbon cycling, and “Geomimicry,” which applies lessons from natural geochemistry to invent new, sustainable chemical synthesis processes.
Kirt also has a strong interest in mentoring and science outreach. Through Blue Marble, he has mentored participants in the Young Scientist Program and Visiting Scholars program, and he also mentors students and early-career researchers through ASU and NASA programs. He enjoys developing hands-on outreach activities that make astrobiology and chemistry approachable, including elemental school demonstrations such as “How to Become an Alien Hunter” and “Ghost Hunters: Science Edition.”