Liliane Burkhard, a University of Hawaiʻi at M膩noa research affiliate, was selected as one of two for the European Geosciences Union (EGU) 2025 General Assembly in Vienna, Austria. In this week-long role spanning April and May, Burkhard created a large-scale installation that bridges science and art, specifically, transforming discarded conference posters into a floating cloud sculpture.

“Science is how we explain the world, art is how we make sense of it,” said Burkhard, a planetary geologist in the (HIGP) at the 糖心Vlog官方 M膩noa School of (SOEST). “I am deeply honored to be selected as an Artist in Residence for EGU25, where I can merge my passions for science and art in a meaningful way.”

The Artist in Residence program offers scientist-artists an opportunity to engage with scientific research in a dynamic setting and be inspired by the many new discoveries being presented at one of the largest international geoscience conferences.

“My installation served as a metaphor for how scientific ideas form and evolve, often starting as nebulous concepts that, over time, take shape and lead to something tangible,” Burkhard shared. “The act of reusing the physical posters to craft something new reflects the iterative process of research itself. In this, I hope to encourage viewers to consider how ideas, much like clouds, are always in flux: constantly forming and dissolving, yet impactful in the way they inspire both imagination and progress.”

With the installation, “Clouds of Insights,“ Burkhard created a space for reflection and conversation, while also emphasizing sustainability by repurposing materials from the conference itself.

In addition to her work as a sculptural mixed media artist, Burkhard has conducted planetary science research previously as a graduate student in the SOEST and now as a HIGP research affiliate. Through her investigations, she has explored the geology and histories of icy moons in our solar system, including Saturn鈥檚 largest moon, , and Jupiter鈥檚 largest moon, .

Sharing the science-art connection

Burkhard and Emily Costello, a researcher at HIGP, co-hosted a short course at the EGU conference, “Unlocking creativity through paper sculptures: Overcoming blocks in writing and idea generation.” They offered more than 60 attendees an opportunity to use the art of paper folding and sculpture to overcome creative blocks, spark fresh ideas and explore the transformative connections between hands-on creativity and scientific innovation.

“There was quite a lot of interest overall, which was very exciting!” said Burkhard. “The participants said they very much enjoyed doing something tactile and hands-on to help them with their work as scientists, connecting themselves to art and seeing things from a different perspective.”

—By Marcie Grabowski

Asteroid Bennu鈥檚 boulder-covered surface gives it protection against small meteoroid impacts, according to observations of craters by NASA鈥檚 . The findings were reported in a study published in and co-authored by University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa planetary geologist, David Trang.

Bennu is a “rubble-pile” asteroid, meaning that it formed from the debris of a much larger asteroid that was destroyed by an ancient impact. Fragments from the collision coalesced under their own weak gravity to form Bennu.

Assessing craters

The team used unprecedented, high-resolution global data sets to examine craters on Bennu: images from the , and surface-height data (topography) derived from the , a laser-ranging (lidar) instrument on the spacecraft.

“Measuring craters and their population on Bennu was exceptionally exciting,” said Trang, an assistant researcher at the in the 糖心Vlog官方 Mānoa . “At Bennu, we discovered something unique to small and rocky bodies, which expanded our knowledge of impacts.”

“These observations give new insight into how asteroids like Bennu respond to energetic impacts,” said Edward (Beau) Bierhaus of Lockheed Martin Space, Littleton, Colorado, lead author of the study.

Scientists estimate the age of planetary surfaces by measuring the abundance and sizes of craters, if the craters are not being erased by erosion from wind and water or buried by lava flows or other processes. Impact craters accumulate over time, so a surface with many craters is older than a surface with few craters. Also, the size of the crater depends on the size of the impactor, with larger impactors generally making larger craters. Since small meteoroids are far more abundant than large meteoroids, celestial objects like asteroids usually have many more small craters than large ones.

Unusual findings

Bennu鈥檚 large craters follow this pattern, with the numbers of craters decreasing as their size increases, but only to a point. However, for craters smaller than about 6.6 feet, the trend is backwards, with the number of craters decreasing as their size decreases. This indicates something unusual is happening on Bennu鈥檚 surface.

The researchers think that Bennu鈥檚 profusion of boulders acts as a shield, preventing many small meteoroids from forming craters. Instead, these impacts are more likely to break apart the boulders or chip and fracture them. Also, some impactors that do make it through the boulders make smaller craters than they would if Bennu鈥檚 surface was covered in smaller, more uniform particles, like beach sand.

The team also found that the number of small and large craters offered different estimates for Bennu鈥檚 surface age, revealing the asteroid鈥檚 long and winding road through space.

The result supports the idea that Bennu was formed in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, but the pull of gravity from other objects in the solar system sent it to the region of space near Earth.

“The crater sizes found throughout Bennu has helped us understand the story and life of this small asteroid, Bennu; it鈥檚 like scars found on a body, which also tells its own story,” said Trang. “Importantly these craters told us that Bennu didn鈥檛 always live near Earth space as it does today, but once lived in the main asteroid belt. Then somehow many of these craters were erased, but then accumulated a new set of craters, which are smaller than those found on the Moon due to boulder armor.”

For more information and a full list of collaborators, .

See more on 糖心Vlog官方 惭ā苍辞补鈥檚 Hawaiʻi Institute of Geophysics and Planetology.

–By Marcie Grabowski

University of Hawaiʻi at M膩noa Professor Paul Lucey is the . This is a lifetime achievement award for contributions to understanding the Moon, Mars and other rocky planets.

Lucey鈥檚 research in planetary science and remote sensing has been instrumental in developing imaging spectrometers for NASA. He has been the principal investigator of numerous programs, and has used hyperspectral imagery to efficiently map lunar materials. His quantitative modeling of near-infrared spectra of the Moon has led to key insights regarding the composition of the lunar crust and interior.

“When I began research in planetary science as an undergraduate, I saw it as a tangible way to explore space and make meaningful contributions to that endeavor,” said Lucey, who is based at the (HIGP) in 糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补鈥檚 . “As time passed, I have enjoyed helping many students do the same, and watch them become successful scientists. The single most memorable moment for me was when I found that the spectrum of a huge asteroid we were studying changed with temperature. I realized I was watching a mountain in space change color as it turned in the Sun.”

Having published extensively in prestigious journals with more than 100 publications, Lucey has made significant contributions across many disciplines鈥揻rom engineering new instruments to scientific data analysis. Additionally, he is the holder of multiple patents.

“This is quite a prestigious award with top researchers having received it previously, including Maria Zuber, vice president for research at MIT, and current co-chair of President Biden鈥檚 Council of Advisors on Science and Technology,” said HIGP Director Robert Wright. “We at HIGP are very proud to see Paul鈥檚 contributions recognized in this way.”

The 2021 Eugene Shoemaker Distinguished Scientist Medal is named after American geologist and one of the founders of planetary science Eugene Shoemaker (1928–1997). The award includes a certificate and medal with the Shakespearian quote “And he will make the face of heaven so fine, that all the world will be in love with night.”

HIGP is now tied with Brown University as having received the most Shoemaker Medals.

“Previous recipients of this award have made giant contributions to planetary scientists, and I don鈥檛 feel my work can compare to theirs, but my peers seem to disagree with my view,” said Lucey. “It is an honor I never expected and will cherish always.”

—By Marcie Grabowski