Elisabeth (Libby) Hausrath

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Professor of Geoscience

Expertise: Mars geochemistry, Water-rock interactions, Astrobiology, Snow dynamics

Biography

Elisabeth (Libby) Hausrath is an aqueous geochemist and astrobiologist who investigates interactions between water and minerals, and the impacts of life on those interactions. She and her team use a combination of field work, laboratory experiments, and modeling to investigate signatures of aqueous alteration and life, the rates at which water-rock interactions occur, and how they differ on Earth and on other planets such as Mars. Their work helps understand chemical weathering, water chemistry, nutrient release, the formation of soils, and potential signatures of life on Earth and Mars.

Hausrath and her team also explore snow dynamics, particularly the interactions between snow algae, microorganisms, and minerals in the nutrient-poor environment present in snow, which may also be an analog to Mars.

Hausrath serves on NASA's Returned Sample Science Board, which offers scientific input into aspects of the upcoming Mars 2020 rover mission.

Education

Dual-Title Ph.D. Program in Geosciences and Astrobiology, Penn State University
Sc.B Geology-Chemistry, Brown University

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Elisabeth (Libby) Hausrath In The News

Nevada Week | Covid-19: 5 Years Later

Five years ago, Covid-19 drastically changed lives all over the world. The pandemic also presented unique challenges for Las Vegas. We discuss how Nevadans continue to be impacted in a special collaboration with KNPR’s State of Nevada. We then meet Libby Hausrath, a UNLV professor and lead researcher on a Mars project. She explains what samples being collected now may tell us about the Red Planet.

UNLV scientist part of NASA mission to analyze samples from Mars

Mars has fascinated humanity since Galileo Galilei accurately observed it more than 400 years ago. Now we’re getting to the point of trying to land spaceships on the planet, which is the stated goal of President Donald Trump and his advisor, Elon Musk.

UNLV professor leads study in first martian soil samples

Could life exist on Mars? That's what a professor at UNLV is looking to find out using samples from the red planet.

Life on Mars? UNLV professor leads study of first soil samples from Mars

Some Las Vegans have been looking to the sky for hints of alien life for decades, but UNLV geoscience professor Libby Hausrath has gotten closer than any of them to finding sound proof.