Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellow

Peri Johnson is a planetary scientist, focused on numerical modeling of the icy worlds of the outer solar system. During her PhD at University of Colorado, Peri modeled the evolution of Pluto’s atmosphere and surface ices over time periods as short as one Pluto year and as long as the age of the solar system. Pluto’s surface ices are dominated by the large nitrogen-ice glacier, Sputnik Planitia, which Peri has suggested formed from atmospheric condensation of nitrogen and resulted in a true polar wander event, reorienting Pluto’s spin axis. At the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics, Peri will continue to study the connection between climate and true polar wander, on Pluto and elsewhere. Additionally, Peri is excited to expand her expertise to ocean worlds while at UTIG, with an eye on understanding the evolution of the solar system and the worlds it contains.

Interests

Planetary science, outer solar system, ocean worlds, planetary ices, Pluto.

Academics

Ph.D, Astrophysics and Planetary Science, University of Colorado, Boulder
M.S., Astrophysics and Planetary Science, University of Colorado, Boulder
M.S., Physics, New Mexico Tech
B.S. (with highest honors), Physics: concentration in Astrophysics, New Mexico Tech

Contact and Links

perianne.johnson@jsg.utexas.edu
Curriculum Vitae
Personal Website
ORCID
Jackson School Profile