Kenneth A. Farley

Kenneth A. Farley is the W.M. Keck Foundation Professor of Geochemistry at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), affiliated with the Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences. He joined Caltech in 1993 as an Assistant Professor, advancing to Professor in 1998 and holding the Keck Foundation Professorship since 2003. He served as Director of the Tectonic Observatory (2003–2004) and Chair of the Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences (2004–2014).

Education:

• B.S., Yale University, 1986
• Ph.D., University of California, San Diego, 1991

Research Interests: Farley specializes in noble gas isotope geochemistry, applying these techniques to study Earth's mantle and atmosphere, oceanic lava petrogenesis, geochronology, and low-temperature thermochronology. His work also includes analyzing interplanetary dust flux via deep-sea sediments and cosmogenic surface exposure dating methods. He is deeply involved in Martian geochemistry and geochronology, serving as a participating scientist on NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover mission and Project Scientist for the Mars 2020 mission (landing 2021).

Professional Roles:

• Project Scientist for NASA’s Mars 2020 mission
• Leading expert in extraterrestrial geochemistry and planetary science

Labs & Collaborations: His research integrates with the Tectonic Observatory and Mars mission teams, focusing on interdisciplinary planetary science and geochemical methodologies.