Cindy shows off her latest underwear surprise, a pompom-infused neon flower theme.
Since we had a tent day today, I was able to corner ANSMET team member Cindy in her cozy tent and get the scoop on her fascinating career trajectory and her choice of underwear.
Name: Cindy Evans
Hometown: Hamburg, NY
Current town: Houston, TX
Background: I did my undergrad at the University of Rochester in geology. I chose geology as a major entirely because it gave me the opportunity to study at the West Indies Laboratory. Previously I was a physics major, not nearly as much fun. My sophomore year I saw posters around campus about an opportunity to work at the laboratory in St. Croix that only geology majors could apply for, so I decided to switch majors then and there. I also started taking diving lessons immediately–and did my checkout dive in the Finger Lakes (in the cold spring!) to qualify for the semester at West Indies lab. After Rochester, I went to Scripps Institute of Oceanography (UC San Diego) for my PhD where I studied ophiolites in the Philippines and compared them to back arc basin and trench rocks. Ophiolites are sections of oceanic crust thrust up into mountain ranges–good outcrops of ophiolites allow geologists to walk through the whole crustal section, in some cases all the way to the former crust-mantle boundary. They give us insight into the evolution of ocean floor, including partial melting of the mantle and hydrothermal alteration.
After my PhD, I taught geology at Colgate University for several years, then moved to Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory (Columbia University) as a researcher to continue my work on rocks from the Earth’s oceans. After a couple of years, I moved to Houston to work at Johnson Space Center (JSC) in their Earth Observations Office where I spent 15 years working with astronauts on the Space Shuttle and International Space Station (ISS) to make observations of the Earth. This work gave me a strong appreciation for how the fundamentals of place (Earth’s geography) are important for understanding people, cultures, and planetary evolution–I would describe myself as a born-again geographer.
Everything changed after the Columbia shuttle was lost–at that time I was a manager for the Earth Observation and Engineering Image Analysis group. Everyone in the group became engineering image analysts as we worked through the causes of the accident and established new protocols for ensuring safe return to Earth for shuttles. Fast forward a few years and a few other positions at JSC. Today I am the manager of the JSC Office of Astromaterials Acquisition and Curation. Our office receives space rocks (and other samples from space) including the ANSMET meteorites, but also curates the Apollo samples, cosmic dust, samples from comets, asteroids and solar particles. Our charge is to keep them safe, protected and preserved for future generations, and to provide them to scientists for study. Working in NASA’s Curation office alongside a great team of curators and processors with a mission to safeguard bits and pieces of the solar system is nothing short of AWESOME!
Why ANSMET?: I wanted to understand the cradle-to-grave operations for obtaining astromaterials and keeping them safe. When I first joined the curation office, the Constellation program to the Moon was alive and well, so we were planning for long duration Lunar missions. My interest in ANSMET started at this time, since ANSMET sampling missions and protocols provide a good analog scenario for future human exploration. Humans are going to be exploring the solar system, and we need to understand best ways to conduct successful missions that return great samples and scientific data. Also… I love fieldwork and the understanding the geographic context of places, as I mentioned before. In many ways this experience feels just like being on a research vessel (which I did as a grad student). It’s also great being part a team with a dedicated mission that I believe in.
Family: I have a husband Jon and two sons Jacob and Charlie (who are probaby rolling their eyes as they read this) [Nina’s note: You kids sound pretty cool the way your mom describes it!]. We have a BIG cat (25 lbs of orange tabby) named Chester. Coincidentally we have the ANSMET wooden box built by Johnny’s wife AC that is named Chester for another cat–an orange tabby, of course.
Hobbies: I hang with my buddies in the neighborhood. We live on a bayou so I also enjoy paddleboarding and birding.
Tell us about your underwear: As I was preparing for ANSMET, I borrowed the long underwear of several previous ANSMET veterans (thank you Shannon, Serena, and Ann). Everything was all black, so I was worried that I would get it mixed up. I mentioned this to one of my neighbors, who said she would do some minor embroidery to help keep the sets distinct. Little did I know that the ladies of Timber Cove would end up pimping out all of my long underwear with intricate designs and complicated trims (possibly over a drink or two). Each week’s underwear has a different theme, including rodeo (with leopard-print back pockets and fringe) and Christmas (with a Santa on a shuttle), using materials like pompoms, rickrack, hearts, you name it. These designs make me laugh and cry every time I open a new week’s worth of underwear. There’s still one more pair yet to be revealed–stayed tuned for the next underwear update!
Tell us about your hair: ANSMET hair is closest I’ve ever gotten to big hair.
Superpower- Flying or invisible?: Flying, just to enjoy flying.
Club membership: Proud member of the Antarctic Cat Club (ACC) since 2015. But I’m not a crazy cat lady!!
Talent: Master ice chipper. I just recently chipped a 20 lbs block of solid blue ice out of this glacier. Water for everyone!
Favorite cocktail: I like a glass of hearty red wine. We have none of that here. Sad face.
Cindy’s message to the world: Chill, dudes.
–Posted by Nina in an outfit lacking rickrack (which is hot right now at Miller), south Miller Range, 12 January 2016