Profiles
Dr Jen Mitchell
Technical Specialist (Electron Microscopy - Physical Sciences)
Faculty of Science and Engineering
Biography
Biography
Jen Mitchell is a Technical Specialist for the application of electron microscopy within the physical sciences. With a strong background in geoscience, Jen's research focuses on non-destructive analytical techniques to investigate meteorites - rocks that formed billions of years ago on asteroids and other planets - and what they can tell us about the early Solar System as well as all things rock-related on Earth. In her role as part of the Plymouth Materials Characterisation Network (PMCN), Jen will utilise her expertise and knowledge to analyse samples from staff, students, and companies relating to the physical sciences.
Qualifications
PhD, Planetary Geology & Geochemistry: Monash University, Australia, "The Complex Magmatic Evolution of Crustal Processes of Asteroid 4 Vesta" (2021)
MGeol (Hons), Geosciences: University of Plymouth, U.K., "Monomict Eucrites: A Comparative Petrology from Scanning Electron Microscopy" (2016)
Professional membership
Jen is a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and the Geological Society of London, and a member of the Meteoritical Society and the UK Planetary Forum.
Research
Research
Research interests
Jen's research focuses on the formation and development of asteroids and planets in the early solar system over 4 billion years ago. By studying meteorites, scientists like Jen can piece together the history of our corner of space from the very first bits of dust to the growth of enormous planets. However, meteorites are hard to come by and cannot be replaced so the use of non-destructive techniques available in the Plymouth Electron Microscopy Centre plays a key role in Jen's research. Whilst the search for life among the stars is a driving force in space science research, Jen's work aims to help answer long-standing questions a bit closer to home, like when does a planet become a planet? Just what was going on all those billions of years ago? And how come is Earth so different from all the other planets?
Other research
Jen has also taken part in a number of meteorite collection fieldtrips and has assisted in the classification of newly found meteorites including the UK's most recent meteorite, Winchcombe (2021).
Publications
Publications
Genge, M.J., Alesbrook, L., Almeida, N.V., Bates, H.C., Bland, P.A., Boyd, M.R., Burchell, M.J., Collins, G.S., Cornwell, L.T., Daly, L., Devillepoix, H.A.R., Van Ginneken, M., Greshake, A., Hallatt, D., Hamann, C., Hecht, L., Jenkins, L.E., Johnson, D., Jones, R., King, A.J., Masour, H., McMullan, S., Mitchell, J.T., Rollinson, G., Russell, S.S., Schröder, C., Stephen, N.R., Suttle, M.D., Tandy, J.D., Trimby, P., Sansom, E.K., Spathis, V., Willcocks, F.M. & Wozniakiewicz, P.J. (2023) The fusion crust of the Winchcombe meteorite: A preserved record of atmospheric entry processes, Meteoritics & Planetary Science, DOI (Open Access)
Suttle, M.D., Daly, L., Jones, R.H.,, Jenkins, L.,, Van Ginneken, M., Mitchell, J.T., Bridges, J.C., Hicks, L.J., Johnson, D., Rollinson, G., Taylor, R., Genge, M.J., Schröder, C., Trimby, P., Mansour, H., Piazolo, S., Bonsall, E., Salge, T., Heard, R., Findlay, R., King, A.J., Bates, H.C., Lee, M.C., Stephen, N.R., Willcocks, F.M., Greenwood, R.C., Franchi, I.A., Russell, S.S., Harrison, C.S., Schofield, P.F., Almeida, N.V., Floyd, C., Martin, P-E., Joy, K.H., Wozniakiewicz, P.J., Hallatt, D., Burchell, M., Alesbrook, L.S., Spathis, V., Cornwell, L.T., Dignam A. (2022) The Winchcombe meteorite – a regolith breccia from a rubble-pile CM chondrite asteroid, Meteoritics & Planetary Science, DOI (Open Access)
King, A.J., Daly, L., Rowe, J., Joy, K.H., Greenwood, R.C., Devillepoix, H.A.R., Suttle, M.D., Chan, Q.H.S, Russell, S.S., Bates, H.C,,Bryson, J.F.J., Clay, P.L., Vida, D., Lee, M.R., O’Brien, A., Hallis, L., Stephen, N.R., Tartèse, R., Sansom, E.K., Towner, M.C., Cupak, M., Shober, P.M., Bland, P.A., Findlay, R., Franchi, I.A., Verchovsky, A.B., Abernethy, F.A.J., Grady, M.M., Floyd, C.J., Van Ginneken, M., Bridges, J., Hicks, L., Jones, R.H., Mitchell, J.T., Genge, M.J., Jenkins, L., Martin, P-E.M.C., Sephton, M.A., Watson, J.S., Salge, T., Shirley, K.A., Curtis, R.J., Warren, T.J., Bowles, N.E., Stuart, F.M., Di Nicola, L., Györe, D., Boyce, A.J., Shaw, K.M.M., Elliott, T., Steele, R.C.J., Povinec, P., Laubensteinm M., Sanderson, D., Cresswell, A., Jull, A.J.T., Sýkora, I., Sridhar, S., Harrison, R.J., Willcocks, F.M., Harrison, C.S. , Hallatt, D., Wozniakiewicz, P.J., Burchelll, M.J., Alesbrook, L.S., Dignam, A., Almeida, N.V., Smith, C.L., Clark, B., Humphreys-Williams, E.R., Schofield, P.F., Cornwell, L.T., Spathis, V., Morgan, G.H., Perkins, M.J., Kacerek, R., Campbell-Burns, P., Colas, F., Zanda, B., Vernazza, P., Bouley, S., Hankey, M., Collins, G.S., Young, J.S, Shaw,C., Horak, J., Jones, D., James, N., Bosley, S., Shuttleworth, A., Dickinson, P., McMullan, I., Robson, D., Smedley, A.R.D., Stanley, B., Bassom, R., McIntyre, M., Suttle, A.A., Fleet, R., Bastiaens, L., Ihasz, M., McMullan, S., Boazman, S.J., Dickeson, Z.I., Grindrod, P.M., Pickersgill, A.E., Weir, C.J., Suttle, F.M., Farrelly, S., Spencer, I., Naqvi, S., Mayne, B., Skilton, D., Kirk, D., Mounsey, A., Mounsey, S., Mounsey, S.E., Godfrey, P., Bond, L., Bond, V., Wilcock, C., Wilcock, H. & Wilcock, R. (2022) The Winchcombe Meteorite, a Unique and Pristine Witness from the Outer Solar System, Science Advances, 6, 46, DOI (Open Access)
Mitchell, J.T., Tomkins, A.G., Newton, C. & Johnson, T.E. (2021), A model for evolving crust on 4 Vesta through combined compositional and thermal modelling, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 571, 117105 DOI
Tomkins, A.G., Johnson, T.E. & Mitchell, J.T. (2020), A review of the chondrite-achondrite transition, and a metamorphic facies series for equilibrated primitive stony meteorites, Meteoritics & Planetary Science, 55, 857-885 DOI
Jansen-Sturgeon, T., Hartig, B.A.D., Madsen, G.J., Bland, P.A., Sansom, E.K., Devillepoix, H.A.R., Howie, R.M., Cupak, M., Towner, M.C., Cox, M.A., Nevill, N.D., Hoskins, Z.N.P., Bonning, G.P., Calcino, J., Clark, J.T., Henson, B.M., Langendam, A., Matthews, S.J., McClafferty, T.P., Mitchell, J.T., O'Neill, C.J., Smith, L.T., Tait, A.W. (2020), Recreating the OSIRIS-REx slingshot manoeuvre from a network of ground-based sensors, Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia, 37, e049 DOI
Mitchell, J.T. & Tomkins, A.G. (2019), On the source of diogenites and olivine diogenites: compositional diversity from variable fO2, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 258, 37-49 DOI
Mitchell, J.T., Willcocks, F.M., Stephen, N.R. (2022), Northwest Africa 6414 classified after 10 years: A complex polymict eucrite of at least nine lithological groups, 85th Annual Meeting of the Meteoritical Society, #6017
Willcocks, F.M., Stephen, N.R., Grimes, S.T., Mitchell, J.T. (2022), A new terrestrial analogue for Martian volcanism: An unexpected match for the shergottite meteorites, 85th Annual Meeting of the Meteoritical Society, #6018
Suttle, M.D. et al. (2022), Geological history of the Winchcombe meteorite - a new CM chondrite fall, 85th Annual Meeting of the Meteoritical Society, #6076
Daly, L. et al. (2022), A coordinated approach to investigate the heterogeneity of aqueous alteration at the micro-scale in the Winchcombe meteorite, a CM fall, 85th Annual Meeting of the Meteoritical Society, #6262
Martin, P-E.M.C., King, A.J., Mitchell, J.T., Stephen, N.R., Trimby, P., Van Ginneken, M., Salge, T., Almeida, N.V., Willcocks, F.M., Daly, L., Lee, M.R. (2022), Calcium-aluminium-rich inclusion populations within the Winchcombe CM2 meteorite breccia, 85th Annual Meeting of the Meteoritical Society, #6358
Genge, M.J. et al. (2022), The fusion crust of the Winchcombe meteorite: Vigorous degassing during atmospheric entry, 85th Annual Meeting of the Meteoritical Society, #6345
Mitchell, J.T., Tomkins, A.G., Wilson, N.C., Howard, D.L. & Stephen, N.R. (2022), A single chondrule preserved in a petrographic thin section of howardite Dhofar 018, 53rd Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, #1184
Mitchell, J.T., Stephen, N.R. & Tomkins, A.G. (2021), Sampling an impact melt sheet with unusual diogenite Northwest Africa 5480, 84th Annual Meeting of the Meteoritical Society, #6008
Mitchell, J.T., Tomkins, A.G., Newton, C. & Johnson, T.E. (2021), The evolving crust of 4 Vesta from compositional and thermal modelling, 52nd Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, #1576
Mitchell, J.T. & Tomkins, A.G. (2019), Compositional diversity of diogenites: variable fO2 and post-eucritic magmatism, 82nd Annual Meeting of the Meteoritical Society, #6065
Mitchell, J.T. & Tomkins, A.G. (2019), Constraining ejecta blanket conditions of Dhofar 018 form a single pristine chondrule, SSERVI Australia
Mitchell, J.T. & Tomkins, A.G. (2018), On the origin of olivine diogenites and diogenites: compositional diversity linked to variable fO2, 22nd Meeting of the International Mineralogical Association, #IMA2018-1393
Mitchell, J.T. & Stephen, N.R. (2016), Revisiting NWA 3141, 8266, and 8594: two eucrites and a howardite?, 79th Annual Meeting of the Meteoritical Society, #6224
Mitchell, J.T. & Stephen, N.R. (2016), Variations within the Vestan meteorites: cause for re-evaluating the HED classification scheme?, Extraterrestrial Materials Research Meeting
Personal
Personal
Conferences organised
NASA's Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute (SSERVI) Australia Node Annual Conference (2019), hosted by Monash University at the Australian Synchrotron