• Brooke Owens Fellow, Class of 2017

• University of Chicago, Ph.D. Planetary Sciences, ‘24

• Durham University (UK), B.S. Geoscience, ‘18

• Host Institution: XPRIZE Foundation

• Mentor: Chris Stott

Alexandra (Sasha) Warren is a 3rd year Ph.D. candidate at the University of Chicago, studying planetary science. After completing their undergraduate degree in Geoscience at Durham University in the UK in 2018, they soon realized that the greatest challenges within the geological sciences are no longer on our own planet but out in our Solar System and beyond. They now use their geological expertise to study how the atmospheres and climates of Mars and Venus have changed over geologic time, using a combination of numerical models and high-resolution spacecraft imagery. So far, they have published two lead-author papers, and are the recipient of NASA FINESST funding for their ongoing Mars work.

Throughout their undergraduate and graduate career, Sasha has received awards for their academic achievements, including the Durham University Vice Chancellors Academic Excellence Scholarship and the University of Chicago McCormick Fellowship. They have also been an active part of their academic community, serving as a student-faculty and student-administration liaison, and co-founding a committee for organizing social events in the University of Chicago Geophysical Sciences department. Beyond their academic career, Sasha is interested in science policy and science journalism and began writing for the online daily astrophysical literature journal Astrobites in January 2021.

As a Brooke Owens Fellow, Sasha worked at the XPRIZE Foundation, where they developed the Impact Report for the Google Lunar XPRIZE. This report assessed the impact the international competition had on the NewSpace industry, and on public engagement with space exploration and STEM since it began in 2007.