Dr. Kynan Hughson is an assistant professor in the Department of Geological Sciences at the University of Alaska Anchorage. At UAA, Dr. Hughson teaches Physical Geology, Earth Surface Processes, Geologic Data Analysis & Visualization, and is developing a course on Planetary Geology. His long-term research focuses on understanding the geological, geophysical, and hydrological processes that shape the surfaces of icy asteroids and worlds in our solar system.

​

Dr. Hughson’s current and proposed research takes aim at better understanding periglacial geomorphology and hydrogeology of Earth, Mars, Ceres, and icy moons through a combination of observation, computer modeling, and the geophysical examination of terrestrial polar analogs. He also works on future exploration technologies for accessing the deep subsurface oceans of many icy moons, and for high-detail mapping of ground ice on Mars and Ceres. In 2020, Dr. Hughson received funding for his Pingo SubTerranean Aquifer Reconnaissance and Reconstruction (Pingo STARR) project through NASA's Planetary Science and Technology through Analog Research (PSTAR) program. Pingo STARR is a four-year (2020-2024) field campaign using geophysical methods to examine the subsurface structure of pingos.