MICHAEL L. WONG a curriculum vitae I am a research associate in the University of Washingtonʼs Astrobiology Program studying planetary atmospheres, habitability, biosignatures, and the emergence of life. I am also co-authoring a revised edition of the textbook Astrobiology: A Multidisciplinary Approach with Professor Jonathan Lunine. My other passions include photography, graphic design, writing, public speaking, and playing a variety of team sports. I host a podcast called Strange New Worlds, which examines science, technology, and culture through the lens of Star Trek. EDUCATION PhD, Planetary Science (2018) California Institute of Technology MS, Planetary Science (2014) California Institute of Technology BA, Planetary Science (2012) University of California, Berkeley CONTACT e-mail [email protected] website www.gps.caltech.edu/~mlwong address Univeristy of Washington 3910 15th Ave NE Physics/Astronomy Bulding Room C319 Seattle, WA 98195 @miquai last modified 12.14.20 photo by MAX GERBER RESEARCH POSITIONS Research Associate (2018–present) University of Washington, Department of Astronomy & Astrobiology Program Advisor: Victoria S. Meadows As a postdoc at UW, I am applying my skills on the exoplanet frontier with in silico simulations of the atmospheric chemistry of terrestrial exoplanets around M-dwarf stars. The questions I’m currently tackling include: What controls the amount of abiotic oxygen that can build up on such worlds? Are volatile-rich worlds habitable? And what might life look like in such alien environments? Research Assistant (2012–2018) California Institute of Technology, Division of Geological & Planetary Sciences Advisors: Yuk L. Yung, Michael J. Russell, Andrew P. Ingersoll As part of my doctorate at Caltech, I envisioned and performed novel research in the field of planetary science—primarily computational modeling of planetary atmospheric processes. I published my research in peer-reviewed journals (see Scientific Publications) and presented my results at numerous conferences and workshops around the world. In addition, I aided my research group by writing grant proposals, giving my peers feedback and advice on their projects and presentations, proofreading drafts of their papers prior to publication, and running mini-lectures/ tutorials on interesting and relevant scientific topics, such as the emergence of life. I also contributed to the general academic community at Caltech. I gave annual seminar talks to my department, participated in campus-wide talk and poster sessions, and gave campus-wide tutorials on software and skills that I have expertise in. Finally, I organized and ran two different weekly seminars for a year each. Undergraduate Research Apprenticeship (2011) University of California, Berkeley, Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences Advisors: Burkhard Militzer, Hugh F. Wilson During this 10-week summer research internship, I performed ab initio simulations of superionic water ice relevant to the interiors of ice giant planets. I presented my work with a poster at the 2011 American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting and published the research as Wilson et al. (2013) in Physical Review Letters. Carnegie Summer Scholar (2010) Carnegie Institution for Science, Geophysical Laboratory Advisors: Alexander F. Goncharov, Viktor Struzhkin During this 10-week summer research internship, I conducted laser-heated diamond anvil cell experiments. I presented my work in the Carnegie Institution of Washington Summer Scholars Symposium and created a poster for the 2010 American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting. I published the research as Goncharov et al. (2012) in the Journal of Applied Physics. SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS Not Yet Published “Do the Clouds of Venus Contain Phosphine?” AP Lincowski, VS Meadows, ..., ML Wong, ... (in review) Astrophysical Journal Letters “Hydrogenic Phototrophs in Gas Giant Atmospheres and Other Reduced Worlds” ML Wong & YL Yung (in review) Planetary Science Journal “Emergence, Construction, or Unlikely? Navigating the Space of Questions Regarding Life’s Origins” S Bartlett &ML Wong (submitted) Conflicting Models for the Origin of Life, SK Smoukov, J Seckbach, R Gordon (eds.), Wiley-Scrivener “Nitrogen Fixation at Early Mars,” D Adams, Y Luo, ML Wong, ... (in review) Astrobiology Peer-Reviewed Publications “Defining Lyfe in the Universe: From Three Privileged Functions to Four Pillars,” S Bartlett & ML Wong (2020) Life “Living at the Extremes: Extremophiles and the Limits of Life in a Planetary Context,” Y Merino, HS Aronson, DP Bojanova, ..., ML Wong, ... (2019) Frontiers in Microbiology “Methane on Mars and Habitability: Challenges and Responses” YL Yung, P Chen, K Nealson, ..., ML Wong, ... (2018) Astrobiology “Pluto’s haze as surface material,” WM Grundy, T Bertrand, ..., ML Wong, ... (2018), Icarus “Structure and composition of Pluto’s atmosphere from the New Horizons solar ultraviolet occultation,” LA Young, JA Kammer, ..., ML Wong, ... (2018) Icarus “Nitrogen oxides in early Earth’s atmosphere as electron acceptors for life’s emergence,” ML Wong, B Charnay, P Gao, YL Yung, MJ Russell (2017) Astrobiology “Constraints on the microphysics of Pluto’s photochemical haze from New Horizons observations,” P Gao, S Fan, ML Wong, ... (2017) Icarus “The photochemistry of Pluto’s atmosphere as illuminated by New Horizons,” ML Wong, S Fan, P Gao ... (2016), Icarus “The Atmosphere of Pluto as observed by New Horizons,” GR Gladstone, ..., ML Wong, ... (2016) Science “Pluto’s Implications for a Snowball Titan,” ML Wong, YL Yung, GR Gladstone (2015) Icarus “Evolution of Earth’s Atmosphere,” YL Yung, ML Wong, EJ Gaidos (2014) Encyclopedia of Atmospheric Sciences (2nd Edition), GR North, JA Pyle, F Zhang (eds.), Academic Press “Superionic to superionic phase change in water: consequences for the interiors of Uranus and Neptune,” HF Wilson, ML Wong, B Militzer (2013) Physical Review Letters “Thermal conductivity of argon at high pressures and high temperatures,” AF Goncharov, ML Wong, ... (2012) Journal of Applied Physics TEACHING ASTR 497 Astrobiology for STEM Majors—Instructor (2020) University of Washington I was the primary instructor for a 10-week university-level course on Astrobiology, tailored for upper-division STEM majors at the University of Washington. This course was based on the Astrobiology course that I designed at Caltech (see below) with updated lecture material, class activities, and assignments. Ge/Ay 159 Astrobiology—Instructor (2017, 2018) California Institute of Technology, for Professor Yuk L. Yung I was the primary instructor for a 10-week university-level course on Astrobiology, which I overhauled and redeveloped from scratch. I wrote brand-new lectures covering three major topics: planetary habitability, the origins of life, and the search for life in the cosmos. I devised and graded weekly homework assignments, and oversaw the development and grading of the final projects—miniature research projects performed by individuals or pairs of students. Ge/Ay 11c The Science of the Solar System—Teaching Assistant (2014–2016) California Institute of Technology, for Professor Michael E. Brown As a teaching assistant, I ran guest-lectures and weekly in-class discussions with Caltech students. In addition, I crafted and recorded a lecture for the corresponding Coursera MOOC, which was taken by over 10,000 students around the world. My TA duties included devising and grading weekly homework assignments, conducting the final exam review session, and grading the final exam. For the 2014 class, I initiated and curated the class blog and organized a class field trip to use the MINERVA telescope to observe planetary bodies. Adventures in Planetary Science—Instructor (2014, 2015) Institute for Educational Advancement I taught an after-school (2014)/summer (2015) course for gifted elementary and middle school students. For this course, I devised novel in-class activities, prepared homework assignments, organized field trips, and was responsible for student assessment and feedback. Ge/Ay 159 Astrobiology—Guest Lecturer (2015, 2019) California Institute of Technology, for Professor Yuk L. Yung I guest lectured on the origins of life for one week (2015) and two weeks (2019). I was also responsible for overseeing the homework assignments for the origins of life section of the course. PHOTOGRAPHY I photo-blogged the adventures of my Astrobiology course during Winter 2017, sharing with friends and followers on Instagram(@miquai) what we were covering each day of class. photos by MICHAEL L. WONG AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS UW Physics Slam—Slammer Supreme/1st place (2019) Awarded by audience vote at the inaugural University of Washington Physics Slam Leadership Award (2018) Awarded by the Graduate Dean of the California Institute of Technology KISS Affiliate (2018–present) Nominated by the Caltech Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences for the Keck Institute for Space Studies 3-Minute Thesis Competition—1st Place (2018) Awarded by the Caltech Library after a live competition at Caltech on March 13, 2018 GSC Teaching Award—Best Teaching Assistant (2017) Awarded by the Caltech Graduate Student Council Richard H. Jahns Teaching Award (2017) Awarded by the faculty of Caltech Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences Outstanding Teaching Assistant (2017) Awarded by the Caltech Dean of Graduate Studies and Registrar based on Teacher Quality Feedback Reports Graduate Research Spotlight Speaker (2017) Awarded by the Caltech Graduate Student Council NAI Scholarship (2015) to participate in the