2025 Service Award for Rhiannon G. Mayne

Abstract

The Meteoritical Society Service Award selectee Dr. Rhiannon G. Mayne is recognized for over two decades of unrelenting dedication to the meteoritics and planetary science communities. Her widespread contributions have promoted research and education in meteoritics and planetary science through extensive education and public outreach activities, service to the broader scientific community, and the acquisition, classification, and curation of many new samples for research in the Monnig Collection.

Rhiannon earned her first degree in geology from Edinburgh University in 2002, followed by a Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee in 2008 under the tutelage of Hap McSween. Rhiannon then undertook a brief postdoctoral fellowship at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, where she worked with Tim McCoy and Cari Corrigan, before being appointed as the Oscar and Juanita Monnig Endowed Chair of Meteoritics and Planetary Science at Texas Christian University (TCU) in 2009. At the same time, Rhiannon was appointed the Curator of the Monnig Collection.

Rhiannon has, for her entire appointment at TCU, been the sole planetary scientist at her institution and the only employee who works with the Monnig Collection itself. In the last 16 years, Rhiannon has grown the Monnig Collection from less than 1500 classified meteorites to nearly 2500, and in 2014 completely recatalogued the Collection as many of the previous records were paper-based. These meteorites are available for scientific study, and the Monnig Collection, a once-hidden gem, has become increasingly visible under Rhiannon's stewardship.

Under Rhiannon's leadership, the Monnig Gallery has seen similar growth to the Monnig Collection. When Rhiannon joined TCU, the Gallery had a full-time Director who managed not only the budget and maintenance of the Gallery but also the public outreach. That position was eliminated in 2010, and Rhiannon assumed the role of Director in addition to her curatorial and professorial duties. In 2010, less than 4000 individuals came into contact with the Monnig Collection at public outreach events both off and on campus and during visits to the Gallery. Under Rhiannon's direction, and with the help of a part-time educator, that number rose to an astonishing 16,360 in 2018. The Gallery was closed during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic and did not open again until June 2022. Since then, Rhiannon has seen thousands of individuals at public outreach events both on and off campus and welcomed many more to the Gallery as visitors during normal opening hours. All of this outreach is undertaken in addition to her work as Curator and an Associate Professor with a heavy teaching load.

As testament to her commitment to public engagement, Rhiannon undertook an Informal Learning in Museums Professional Certificate at Oregon State University to better understand how to maximize learning both for visitors to the Gallery and for those at outreach events. While completing this certificate, Rhiannon led an update to the Gallery exhibits, adding more interactive displays to allow visitors to become more active participants in the science they describe. She was solely responsible for managing this project and for writing new content.

Rhiannon's dedication to planetary science education and engagement is also reflected in her service within the planetary science research community. She has held several committee positions both within and outside of the Meteoritical Society and is currently the Co-Chair of the Facilities and Informatics Subcommittee of the Extraterrestrial Materials Analysis Group (ExMAG) Facilities and Informatics committee. Rhiannon also served as Interim Co-Chair of the former LPI IDEA committee, which was charged with providing guidance to the LPI on its institutional practices in order to foster an inclusive, diverse, equitable, and accessible environment at LPI-organized activities, such as meetings, conferences, public and planetary community engagement activities.