NASA scientist James Rice has had the rare privilege of naming Martian landmarks, and he didnāt forget his roots on Earth when he did ā one is named after his hometown of Tuscaloosa. He grew up and studied in Tuscaloosa and still finds time to visit, even though his work is 250 million miles away.
He said he hopes to one day name a rock or other landmark after his favorite football team, who he saw beat Ole Miss 33-14 this weekend.
āI wanted to name something Alabama or Crimson Tide, [but] I canāt promise itās going to happen,ā Rice said. āIf you [name something] Alabama, youād like to do University of Alabama, because you donāt want Auburn to have any credit or anything.ā
Rice and Ryan Ewing, an assistant professor in the Department of Geological Sciences, represent a crimson connection to the red planet ā a small part of a large team trying to uncover Marsā secrets.
Rice is an astrogeologist studying rocks and the martian landscape for NASA. He graduated from the University in 1984 with a degree in geology, received a masterās degree from Northeast Louisiana University and a Ph.D. from Arizona State.
His love for Alabama, though, does not get lost as he explains some of the specifics of his geology work. Rice recalled sitting in Bryant-Denny Stadium in disgust when Cam Newton ā āScam,ā he calls him ā beat Alabama in the 2010 Iron Bowl. He includes scores of Alabama games in his emails to his NASA colleagues.
The CW: To infinity, beyond.
He said he hopes to one day name a rock or other landmark after his favorite football team, who he saw beat Ole Miss 33-14 this weekend.
āI wanted to name something Alabama or Crimson Tide, [but] I canāt promise itās going to happen,ā Rice said. āIf you [name something] Alabama, youād like to do University of Alabama, because you donāt want Auburn to have any credit or anything.ā
Rice and Ryan Ewing, an assistant professor in the Department of Geological Sciences, represent a crimson connection to the red planet ā a small part of a large team trying to uncover Marsā secrets.
Rice is an astrogeologist studying rocks and the martian landscape for NASA. He graduated from the University in 1984 with a degree in geology, received a masterās degree from Northeast Louisiana University and a Ph.D. from Arizona State.
His love for Alabama, though, does not get lost as he explains some of the specifics of his geology work. Rice recalled sitting in Bryant-Denny Stadium in disgust when Cam Newton ā āScam,ā he calls him ā beat Alabama in the 2010 Iron Bowl. He includes scores of Alabama games in his emails to his NASA colleagues.
The CW: To infinity, beyond.
