Seminar Details
Seminar Lab Date: November 23, 2026
Seminar Lab Subject: Mars Demystified: What Everyone Should Know
Seminar Lab Presenter: Protiti Roy, Ph.D. Candidate, Graduate Fellow, University of Iowa
Seminar Lab Location:
In-person only at University of Minnesota, Tate Hall, Room B20
Lecture start time 7:00 PM CT
Seminar Lab Detail:
Summary: Mars provides a unique opportunity to investigate the geological and environmental conditions of the early Solar System because, unlike Earth, much of its ancient surface has remained preserved. Geological evidence from orbital observations, rover missions, and meteorite analyses reveal extensive volcanic activity, a basaltic crust, and localized occurrences of more evolved rocks (SiO2 > 53 wt %), indicating a complex geological history. Landforms such as river deltas, conglomerates, clay-rich sediments, and hydrated mineral deposits demonstrate that liquid water was once abundant on the Martian surface, supporting long-lived fluvial and lacustrine environments. Additional evidence of hydrothermal activity and neutral-pH aqueous conditions suggests that ancient Mars possessed environments favorable for habitability. Recent studies have identified the strongest evidence to date for potential ancient biosignatures, including complex organic molecules and chemical signatures that are consistent with past microbial activity, although these findings have not yet been conclusively confirmed as evidence of life. Continued exploration, advanced in situ analyses, and future sample-return investigations are expected to determine whether these biosignatures represent the first confirmed evidence of ancient life on Mars and to further refine our understanding of the planet’s geological and biological evolution.
Biography: My name is Protiti Roy. I’m a Graduate Fellow and Ph.D. student at the Planetary Exploration Group in the School of Earth, Environment, and Sustainability at The University of Iowa.
Martian mineralogy fascinates me. I use orbital remote sensing data to study minerals on Mars and uncover clues about its igneous and sedimentary history, past water activity, and how Mars may have looked and behaved in the past. My current research focuses on the mineralogy of high thermal inertia regions in Valles Marineris, Mars’s largest canyon system.
In 2025, I received the “Future Investigators in NASA Earth and Space Science and Technology” (FINESST) grant. It is funding my graduate research project entitled “Morphological and Mineralogical Characterization of High Thermal Inertia Regions on the Floor of Valles Marineris, Mars” for 2 years.
Before Iowa, I received my bachelor’s with an Honours in Geology from University of Calcutta, India and my master’s in Applied Geology from Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines) Dhanbad, India.
In my free time I love painting and sketching, hiking, reading story books, and cooking!