Shannon Hibbard

Dr. Shannon Hibbard serves as an Assistant Research Professor in Geomorphology at the Desert Research Institute (DRI) in Reno, within the Division of Earth and Ecosystem Sciences. She is affiliated with the Graduate Program of Hydrologic Sciences and maintains active collaborations with NASA and the Department of Defense.

Her educational credentials include:

• Ph.D. in Geology and Planetary Science, University of Western Ontario
• M.S. in Geology, Temple University
• B.S. in Geology, The Ohio State University

She further honed her expertise as a NASA Postdoctoral Program Fellow at Jet Propulsion Laboratory, bridging Earth analogue studies with planetary exploration.

Dr. Hibbard's research integrates geomorphology with practical defense applications through:

• Periglacial and glacial processes in polar environments
• Permafrost dynamics and soil engineering properties
• Planetary geology investigations on Mars
• Cross-country mobility constraint assessments for military operations

Her recent publication trend emphasizes field-deployable solutions for Department of Defense challenges, particularly in rapid soil property assessment for terrain mobility.

Utilizing integrated geophysical techniques including Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), LiDAR, and Electromagnetic Induction (EMI) coupled with satellite remote sensing, she characterizes surface and subsurface landscape processes across terrestrial and planetary environments.