Maeve Murphy Quinlan

I am a research software engineer at the University of Leeds, in the Research Computing Team. I just recently submitted my NERC-funded PhD in the Institute of Geophysics and Tectonics, University of Leeds, which focused on investigating the origin of pallasite meteorites and the nature of their parent body(/ies) using an interdisciplinary approach involving multi-scale modelling of thermal processes and analysis of meteorite samples.

My recent research

Pallasite meteorites comprise a mixture of olivine and Fe-Ni metal (and various minor phases), which have historically been explained as relict core-mantle boundary samples from disrupted planetesimals. While this origin is under debate with many alternative hypotheses suggested, these samples do still represent a natural laboratory to study the behaviour of co-existing mantle-like and core-like material.

In order to better understand the environment and context of formation of these meteorites, I have taken a multi-scale approach: first, looking at the bigger picture and modelling the thermal evolution of the pallasite parent body; then, at the meso scale, investigating the processes in the region of metal and olivine mixing; and finally, integrating micro-scale evidence from samples (through SEM, EPMA and EBSD analysis; not yet published) to model outputs to constrain the parameter space and test different formation hypotheses.

I’m interested in open science, reproducible modelling and developing open-source software. The source-code for our recently published study The Conductive Cooling of Planetesimals With Temperature-Dependent Properties is available on GitHub. We’ve also further developed this code to make it more modular and useful and have published it as a Python package, available on the Python Package Index with full documentation and examples available to make it easier to use. The source code for Reconciling fast and slow cooling during planetary formation as recorded in the main group pallasites is also available: PytesiMINT.

Other experience and responsibilities

I’ve worked extensively as a module assistant on a variety of courses, including maths and geophysics tutorials, geology practical sessions, and fieldwork, at both undergraduate and masters level. I also have experience designing and facilitating a range of planetary science themed outreach sessions, aimed at both the general public and specific school groups, in person and online. I’ve developed downloadable teaching materials for Space Hub Yorkshire (available here under “Planetary Systems”) and won an award for developing an outreach poster as part of a NERC Panorama online conference. I’ve also written a blog post for the EGU Geodynamics blog.

I’m a member of a number of research groups within the Institute of Geophysics and Tectonics: Deep Earth, Rocks, Melts, Fluids, and last but not least, Planetary Exploration, which I help to organise. While the Covid-19 pandemic has changed how our research groups interact, we’ve continued to meet online to discuss new research, present novel papers, and deliver seminars on different topics in planetary science.

pytesimal website | email me | github profile | ORCID profile | departmental page