M Joseph Pasterski

(PHD FELLOW)

M Joseph Pasterski's Contact Card & Information.
Email:	joseph.pasterski@nasa.gov
Org Code:	699
Address:	NASA/GSFC Mail Code 699 Greenbelt, MD 20771
Employer:	NPP POST-DOC CONTRACT

Brief Bio

Positions/Employment

Talks, Presentations and Posters

Brief Bio

I am currently working as a NASA Postdoctoral Program (NPP) fellow at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD. I will use laser desorption - mass spectrometry (LDMS), similar to the LDMS system that is scheduled to fly onboard the Dragonfly mission to Titan, in order to build machine learning models to characterize organic compounds and organic compound classes.

I earned a PhD from the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois Chicago in 2022. My PhD research focused on Organic Geochemistry and Mass Spectrometry Imaging of geologic samples, with a specific interest in using multiple analytical measurement techniques and statistical analysis to map the location of organic molecular biosignatures (aka biomarkers) in geologic samples.

Positions/Employment

NASA Postdoctoral Program (NPP) Fellow

Oak Ridge Associated Universities - Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland

July 2023 - Present

Working as a NASA Postdoctoral Program (NPP) Fellow at Goddard Space Flight Center in the Planetary Environments Laboratory. Developing machine learning algorithms to characterize organic matter via laser desorption mass spectrometry (LDMS) for the NASA Dragonfly mission.

Teaching Experience

2014 – 2022: Teaching Assistant at the University of Illinois at Chicago including:

Earth and Environmental Science (100 level)
Earth Systems (200 level)
The undergraduate field course (200 level).
Sedimentary Processes (300 level)
Hydrology and Hydrogeology (400 level)
Data Science and Statistics in R (400 level)

Education

2017 – 2022 PhD, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois Chicago

2014 – 2016 MS, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois Chicago

2010 – 2013 BS, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois Chicago

Professional Service

2019 – 2023: Co-lead of the Early Career Council (ECC) within the Network for Life Detection (NfoLD), a Research Coordination Network (RCN) developed by NASA to advance the current state-of-knowledge regarding the detection of life.

2022: Was the primary convener for an early career themed session at the 2022 Astrobiology Science Conference titled “Initiatives within and Resources for the Early Career Astrobiology Community.”

2016 – 2020: Developed and delivered a series of Earth Science and Astrobiology focused 1-hour courses for elementary students at schools across the Chicago area.

2016 – 2018: Developed, co-produced, and co-hosted a series of live science

Awards

2023: Awarded a NASA Postdoctoral Program Fellowship.

2022: Awarded the National Association of Geoscience Teachers Outstanding TA Award.

2016: Awarded the Teaching Assistant of the Year award by the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois Chicago.

Special Experience

2023: Selected to attend the Astrobiology Mission Ideation Factory at Goddard Space Flight Center.

2022: Selected to participate in the Josep Comas i Solà International Astrobiology Summer School hosted by NASA and ESA in Santander, Spain (July, 2022)

2020: Was the primary author for an access proposal aimed at analyzing geologic samples using ToF-SIMS at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Publications

Refereed

2023. "Picosecond versus femtosecond-laser ablation of silicon in atmosphere." Journal of Laser Applications 35 (4): [10.2351/7.0001206] [Journal Article/Letter]

2023. "The Determination of the Spatial Distribution of Indigenous Lipid Biomarkers in an Immature Jurassic Sediment Using Time-of-Flight–Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry." Astrobiology 23 (9): 936-950 [10.1089/ast.2022.0145] [Journal Article/Letter]

2021. "Femtosecond Laser Desorption Postionization MS vs ToF-SIMS Imaging for Uncovering Biomarkers Buried in Geological Samples." Analytical Chemistry 93 (48): 15949-15957 [10.1021/acs.analchem.1c03275] [Journal Article/Letter]

2020. "Aquatic landscape change, extirpations, and introductions in the Chicago Region." Urban Ecosystems 23 (6): 1277-1288 [10.1007/s11252-020-01001-6] [Journal Article/Letter]

Non-Refereed

2021. "Appeal for Improved Sample Selection, Preparation and Interpretation Standards for Organic Biosignature Experiments Performed by Flight Instruments." Planetary Science and Astrobiology Decadal Survey 2023-2032 520 [Journal Article/Letter]

Talks, Presentations and Posters

Invited

Mass Spectrometry Imaging of Geologic Samples and DraMS LDMS

September 20, 2023

Lecture for the Astrobiology Department at Open University, UK.

Mass Spectrometry Imaging of Organic Biomarkers in Geological Samples.

August 30, 2022

In Microscopy and Microanalysis, 28, S1, 992-994.

Other

Using Machine Learning to Aid in the Interpretation of MS Imaging Datasets: Multimodal Analysis of a Geologic Sample Containing Organic Molecular Biosignatures.

12, 2022

In American Geophysical Union, p. P25A-73.

Multimodal Analysis of Indigenous Organic Molecular Biosignatures in a Geologic Sample: ToF-SIMS, GC-MS, SEM-EDS and Machine Learning.

October 23, 2022

In Midwest Geobiology 2022, p. 32.

Indigenous Organic Molecular Biosignatures are Detectable via ToF-SIMS of a Kerogen-rich Jurassic Clay.

June 10, 2022

In Astrobiology Science Conference, p. 125–01.

The Network for Life Detection (NfoLD) Early Career Council (ECC).

June 10, 2022

In Astrobiology Science Conference, p. 116–01.

The Detection of Indigenous Sterane Biomarkers in an Immature Jurassic Sediment using ToF-SIMS Mass Spectrometry Imaging.

13, 2021

In American Geophysical Union, p. P15D-2134.

Multimodal Mass Spectrometry Imaging (MSI) of Archean and Jurassic Geologic Samples.

12, 2020

In American Geophysical Union, p. P030-06.

Mass Spectral Imaging of a Carbon and Sulfur-rich Mudstone: Femtosecond – Laser Desorption Laser Postionization Mass Spectrometry of the Oxford Clay.

July 24, 2019

In Astrobiology Science Conference, v. 89, p. 4781–4785

Micron Scale Mapping and Depth Profiling of Organic Compounds in Geologic Material: Femtosecond - Laser Desorption Laser Postionization - Mass Spectrometry (fs-LDPI-MS).

11, 2017

In American Geophysical Union, p. P43G08.

M Joseph Pasterski

Brief Bio

Positions/Employment

NASA Postdoctoral Program (NPP) Fellow

Teaching Experience

Education

Professional Service

Awards

Special Experience

Publications

Refereed

Non-Refereed

Talks, Presentations and Posters

Invited

Mass Spectrometry Imaging of Geologic Samples and DraMS LDMS

Mass Spectrometry Imaging of Organic Biomarkers in Geological Samples.

Other

Using Machine Learning to Aid in the Interpretation of MS Imaging Datasets: Multimodal Analysis of a Geologic Sample Containing Organic Molecular Biosignatures.

Multimodal Analysis of Indigenous Organic Molecular Biosignatures in a Geologic Sample: ToF-SIMS, GC-MS, SEM-EDS and Machine Learning.

Indigenous Organic Molecular Biosignatures are Detectable via ToF-SIMS of a Kerogen-rich Jurassic Clay.

The Network for Life Detection (NfoLD) Early Career Council (ECC).

The Detection of Indigenous Sterane Biomarkers in an Immature Jurassic Sediment using ToF-SIMS Mass Spectrometry Imaging.

Multimodal Mass Spectrometry Imaging (MSI) of Archean and Jurassic Geologic Samples.

Mass Spectral Imaging of a Carbon and Sulfur-rich Mudstone: Femtosecond – Laser Desorption Laser Postionization Mass Spectrometry of the Oxford Clay.

Micron Scale Mapping and Depth Profiling of Organic Compounds in Geologic Material: Femtosecond - Laser Desorption Laser Postionization - Mass Spectrometry (fs-LDPI-MS).

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