Shuai Li, Assistant Researcher c.v.
Office: POST 514B
Lab: POST 514A
Email: shuaili@hawaii.edu
Hawaii Institute of Geophysics and Planetology
University of Hawaii at Manoa
Research themes
My research of interest focuses on two different fields. I am interested in water and its associated processes on airless rocky bodies. Water on these bodies is one of the essential components that can preserve its source characteristics. The retention and distribution of such water can help to reveal surface processes possibly associated with the solar wind implantation, impacting of meteorites, comets, and interplanetary dusts, and even the interior degassing. The retained water may react with rocks on those airless bodies even under extremely low hydration conditions, such as on the Moon.
The identified water can be important in situ resources for future exploration of space. Water also represents one of the basic prerequisites to evolve and sustain life.
I am also interested in the non-icy components on icy bodies in the outer solar system. Those non-icy components provide clues about surface processes and possible connections between the surface and the interior. My studies in these two fields aim to improve our knowledge about the formation and evolution of the solar system.
Courses that I teach:
Lunar volcanism (seminar), Spring 2022: Syllabus.
Lunar geology (lectures), Fall 2022: Syllabus.
Selected media reports
"The Earth is making the moon rust" by CNN
"The moon is 'rusting' and scientists are stunned" by Fox News
"Scientists discover the Moon is rusting" by BBC
"Ice Confirmed at the Moon’s Poles" by NASA
"Ice on the Surface of the Moon? Almost Certainly, New Research Shows" by The New York Times
"Beyond the Shadow of a Doubt, Water Ice Exists on the Moon" by Scientific American
"Ice found on moon surface, raising prospect of lunar colony" by The Guardian
"1st Map of Water on the Moon Could Aid Future Lunar Exploration" by Yahoo news
"The first global map of water in the moon's soil: Researchers discover the molecule is far more widespread than previously known" by Daily Mail
"Moon wetter than previously thought, raising new manned mission possibilities" by The Guardian
"Why The First Lunar Base Should Be On A Nearside Highland" by Forbes
"Water ice found at the moon's poles, study says" by CNN
"First direct evidence of water ice on the surface of the moon" by ABC
Full list of media reports on my lunar surface water study can be found here.
Full list of media reports on my lunar interior water study can be found here.
Full list of media reports on my lunar ice study can be found here.
Full list of media reports on my lunar hematite (rust) work can be found here.