Joel Hurowitz

Joel Hurowitz is an Associate Professor at Stony Brook University's Department of Geosciences. He specializes in planetary geochemistry and Mars exploration, serving as Deputy Principal Investigator for NASA's PIXL instrument on the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover. His research focuses on Martian sedimentology, ancient water chemistry, and the search for extraterrestrial life through experimental geochemistry and field analog studies.

Education: B.Sc. SUNY Albany (1996), M.Sc. and Ph.D. Stony Brook University (2001, 2006). Previous roles include postdoctoral work at Caltech/JPL and research positions at NASA-JPL. He leads a lab equipped with a PIXL prototype for student training and Mars mission support.

Research interests include: (1) Mars surface exploration via PIXL, (2) terrestrial analog studies of iron formations and basaltic terrains, (3) experimental aqueous geochemistry for early Earth/Mars comparisons, and (4) planetary regolith toxicity. His work combines field studies (Idaho, Iceland), lab experiments, and rover-based planetary analysis.

Key contributions include: over 50 peer-reviewed articles, leadership in the Simons Collaboration on the Origins of Life, and involvement in Mars 2020 mission operations. His lab has trained multiple Ph.D. students (Ella Holme, Michael Thorpe, Donald Hendrix) and current advisees like Madison Morris (Fe-Mg carbonate studies).

Labs/Teams: PIXL instrument development team, Stony Brook SSERVI node (regolith toxicity studies), and international collaborations with Caltech and NASA-JPL.