Remote Science Team

Karon Wynne is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Neuroscience and a Masters in Public Health at The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. As a Ph.D. candidate her research is focused on the development of novel technology for the diagnostics and treatment of traumatic brain injury. Karon also works at NASA Johnson Space Center developing a countermeasure for radiation induced cellular damage. She has been recognized as a Texas Space Grant Consortium Fellow and an Albert Schweitzer Fellow. Prior to attending graduate school Karon received a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from West Virginia University (WVU). At WVU, Karon was a member of the Honors College and was awarded both a university scholarship and the Mickey Leland Energy Fellowship. After graduating from WVU, Karon worked for the U.S. Department of Energy at the National Energy Technology Laboratory and Argonne National Laboratory developing alternative energy technology. She has also interned at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, where her research focused on the use of microfluidics for pathogen identification in the event of biological warfare. Karon participated as the Biologist and Health and Safety Officer for Crew 109 at MDRS. She is currently conducting an ongoing study to identify what aspects of the habitat meet the functional requirements for crew needs in order to determine areas for improvement. This work will provide information that can help with the design process of future habitats. She joined the Remote Science Team in 2011.

Marc O Griofa, M.D. (MB BCh BAO), Ph.D., F.A.W.M. is one of the flight surgeons for the MDRS missions. He received his medical degree from University College Dublin and his PhD from University of Limerick. He is also a Fellow of the Academy of Wilderness Medicine. Marc is the principle investigator for Project CASPER (Cardiac Adapted Sleep Parameters Recorder), which was the first Irish experiment to fly onboard ISS and Space Shuttle. He spent 3 years at Kennedy Space Center as part of the Aerospace Medicine and Biomedical Research departments. He is also a NOAA trained diving medical officer (DMO) and supported the NASA NEEMO missions at the Aquarius Undersea Habitat and is a trauma instructor for the Department of Defense. Marc is currently the chief medical and technology officer for a company doing R&D in developing biomedical technology for civilian and military use.

Dr. Jonathan Clarke is a geologist with the Australian government’s geoscience agency, working in groundwater. Previously Jon has taught at several universities and worked in the minerals sector in Australia, the Philippines and Chile, he has over 30 years of experience to date. Jon first visited MDRS in 2003 and returned there in 2010 and 2011. He is acting president of Mars Society Australia and is involved with the MarsOz project, which aims to set up a similar station to MSRS in the Flinders Range, albeit to a very different design. Jon's Mars interests include martian geology and geomorphology and their analogues, astrobiology, exploration technologies, and habitat design. Previous publications include papers on fluvial and carbonate sedimentology, modern marine benthic biotas, palaeoecology, landscape evolution, and regolith geology. Jon has been active in several spaceward bound expeditions to Arkaroola and the Pilbara. He is a keen camper and scuba diver and an avid reader and film buff. He is married to Anna and they have two grown up daughters and a cat.

Stacy Sklar (GIS, geology, mapping, field methods, remote science) is currently attending Mesa Community College obtaining her GIS Certification in GIS and Remote Sensing then transferring to Arizona State University in the Planetary Geology department. She is currently an intern with the Audubon Society of Arizona mapping IBAs for the entire state. Stacy is a veteran of MDRS, FMARS, RST, and CapCom. An avid hiker and lover of all outdoor sports, her newest adventure is rollerblading with her new four legged flatmates.

Melissa Battler

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