Terraforming Mars - Michael Gillin
Hometown: Livonia, New York
Class Year: 2008
Major: Physics Minor: Math, Geology
Research Advisor: Professor George Shaw
Project Description:
This was a theoretical project, researching what would need to be done to the planet Mars for life to be able to exist there. Much of the work involved reading scientific papers to find out what methods have been proposed for terraformation. I critiqued these methods, found problems and/or uncertainties associated with each of them, and started researching a newly proposed method of vaporizing some of the polar icecap to release hydrocarbons and generate a methane atmosphere.