Name: Addie (Adrienne) Dove
DOB: 4/11/84
Major:
- Undergrad: Physics (Minors: Anthropology, Mathematics
- Grad: Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences
Position at CMR: Postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Physics and lab manager for the Center for Microgravity Research labs
“I went to school through 22nd grade,” Addie said.
Addie is an astronomer/planetary scientist studying surface processes, primarily on airless solar system bodies (i.e. the Moon, asteroids, small moons). She is particularly interested in dust charging and dynamics, and the intersection of planetary science research
and exploration. She also enjoys teaching and doing public outreach about science and exploration.
Addie will be acting as a mentor for the CATE students, and take care of the day-to-day contact in the lab to supervise design, construction, and testing. “Seeing both the project and the students development is my favorite part of CATE. We’ll be working on some new designs for this project, so just having it come to fruition, and seeing how it works in flight, will be exciting,” Addie said. But she is also looking forward to helping all the undergrads on the project develop new skills, and seeing what they learn through the process.
Addie is currently doing exactly what she wants to. She is working as a postdoctoral researcher at UCF! “Long term, I would like to continue teaching and research, likely as a faculty member, and I’d like to go explore the Moon some day,” she said.
CATE is going to help Addie achieve these goals by giving her a chance to participate in the design of another experiment, from conception through flight, but it’s also giving her a chance to mentor students, “which is one of the best parts of being a faculty member!”
As a child, Addie dreamed of being an astronaut. For a while, she wanted to be an artist-veterinarian-astronaut. “Someone was going to have to take care of all the animals we’d have on the space station, right,” she said.
She loves cooking and baking. Her favorite flavors are cinnamon and ginger (fairly appropriate), but she hates cilantro. If Addie could be an animated character, she would be Penny from Inspector Gadget because she was awesome, and we all know she’s really the one who always saved the day.