Steve Squyres

Steven W. Squyres
Born (1956-01-09) January 9, 1956 (age 68)
NationalityAmerican
Alma materCornell University (B.A. and PhD)
OccupationAstronomer
Known forSpirit rover and Opportunity rover
AwardsHarold C. Urey Prize (1987)
Carl Sagan Memorial Award (2004)
Whipple Award (2012)

Steven Weldon Squyres (born January 9, 1956) is an American geologist and planetary scientist. He was the James A. Weeks Professor of Physical Sciences at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.[1][2] His research area is in planetary sciences, with a focus on large solid bodies in the Solar System such as the terrestrial planets and the moons of the Jovian planets. Squyres was the principal investigator of the Mars Exploration Rover Mission (MER).

Squyres is the recipient of the 2004 Carl Sagan Memorial Award and the 2009 Carl Sagan Medal for Excellence in Communication in Planetary Science. Squyres also received the 2010 Mines Medal for his achievements as a researcher and professor.[3] He is the brother of Academy Award-nominated film editor Tim Squyres.

On September 13, 2019, Squyres announced that he would retire from Cornell University on September 22, 2019 to take the position of Chief Scientist at Blue Origin, an aerospace manufacturer.[4]

  1. ^ "Steve Squyres." Almanac of Famous People. Gale, 2011. Biography in Context. Retrieved May 23, 2014.
  2. ^ Cornell University Department of Astronomy Faculty
  3. ^ "Mines Medal". Archived from the original on 2010-10-31. Retrieved 2010-10-26.
  4. ^ "Mars Rover Lead Prof. Steve Squyres to Leave Cornell for Bezos's Blue Origin". 13 September 2019.