Rising Star Award

Caitlin Ahrens graduated from the West Virginia University Eberly College of Arts and Sciences with bachelor’s degrees in geology and physics, with an emphasis in astrophysics, in 2015. She went on to pursue a PhD at the Arkansas Center for Space and Planetary Sciences at the University of Arkansas, where she is still studying today.

A Fairmont, West Virginia, native, Ahrens is known as “The Pluto Manager” at the Arkansas Center for Space and Planetary Sciences. Her graduate research is focused on the geology of Pluto, and she manages the campus’s Pluto Simulation Laboratory, making ice mixtures from various elements and subjecting them to very low temperatures to help predict the various landforms observed on Pluto. This lab was responsible for analyzing the first close-up images of Pluto captured by the NASA New Horizons interplanetary space probe.

Ahrens is deeply passionate about sharing science with others, and this shows through her weekly space-centered radio show, “Scratching the Surface,” which is broadcast on the local NPR station in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The two-minute segments deal with the latest information and activity regarding the solar system. Her radio show listeners include elementary students from across the world, including a small school in Kampala, Uganda.

Ahrens also leads space lectures at the Fayetteville Public Library and gives presentations about space to local organizations. She also serves as a NASA Solar System Ambassador and regularly travels to schools in northwest Arkansas to speak with students of all ages about NASA’s exploration and discoveries. Ahrens is a strong advocate for women in STEM, regularly attending Girl Scout meetings, science events and workshops. She has spoken at numerous conferences, including the Lunar and Planetary Sciences, which hosts over 2,000 international planetary scientists.

In 2018, Ahrens was chosen as the Jaycees Outstanding Young American and was named a 2018 Outstanding West Virginian by the West Virginia Junior Chamber. She also received the 2018 Ten Outstanding Young Americans Award, one of the oldest and most prestigious recognition programs in the United States, for her science outreach.

During her undergraduate career at WVU, Ahrens conducted research on a methodology for statistically forecasting earthquakes on a global scale. She established a patent for the methodology, and it is now being used for publishing purposes and conference presentations to raise awareness among the seismologist community.

Ahrens aspires to continue communicating science to the public, expand her earthquake research and someday work on a NASA space mission.