Hi, my name is Will Vaughan. I'm a graduate student in planetary geology at Brown. I got my B.S. in geology from the University of Chicago in 2011. You can contact me at Will_Vaughan@brown.edu.

My research interests include (1) the igneous petrology of the Moon and Mercury; (2) pits and collapse features on the Moon and Mercury.

My personal interests include (1) East Asian languages, history, and culture; (2) sundials; (3) amateur radio—I'm a licensed amateur radio operator.

My graduate advisor is Jim Head. In addition to having published extensively on the Moon and the terrestrial planets, Jim has travelled to the ends of the Earth, from Antarctica to the ocean floor.

My undergraduate advisor was Larry Grossman, namesake of grossmanite. I wrote my senior thesis under the supervision of Larry and Steve Simon.

Check out (1) my peer-reviewed publications;
(2) my recent talks and conference participation;
(3) my press; and (4) some pictures of me.

1. Impact melt differentiation in the South Pole-Aitken basin (under review)
• W.M. Vaughan and J.W. Head (2013), GRL.
2. Geology and petrology of enormous volumes of impact melt on the Moon: A case study of the Orientale basin impact melt sea (pdf)
• W.M. Vaughan, J.W. Head, L. Wilson, and P.C. Hess (2013), Icarus.
3. Mercury's hollows: Constraints on formation and composition from analysis of geological setting and spectral reflectance (in press, pdf)
• D.T. Blewett, W.M. Vaughan, Z. Xiao, N.L. Chabot, B.W. Denevi, C. Ernst, J. Helbert, M. D'Amore, A. Maturilli, J.W. Head, and S.C. Solomon (2012), JGR-Planets.

1. 44th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (18–22 March 2013, The Woodlands, TX)
• What Sulfides Exist on Mercury? (poster, abstract)
• Modeling the South-Pole Aitken Subsurface (poster, abstract)
2. Microsymposium 54 (16–17 March 2013, The Woodlands, TX)
• Impact melt differentiation in South Pole-Aitken basin (talk, slides)
3. MESSENGER Science Team Meeting 29 (26–28 February 2013, Laurel, MD)
• What sulfides exist on Mercury? Implications for hollows (talk)
4. Micro Meets Macro—Space Horizons 2013 (20–21 February 2013, Providence, RI)
• Moon Microsatellite Science: Assessing Transient Lunar Phenomena, Recent Gas Release, and KREEP Localization with a Lunar GPS (Gas Positioning System) (talk, video)
5. Brown University Planetary "Lunch Bunch" (29 November 2012, Providence, RI)
• Iron, sulfur, and sodium on Mercury (talk)
6. Geological Society of America Annual Meeting (4–7 November 2012, Charlotte, NC)
• Geology and petrology of enormous volumes of impact melt: A case study of the Orientale melt sea (talk)
7. The Third Moscow Solar System Symposium (Третий Московский Симпозиум По Солнечной Системе) (8–12 October 2012, Moscow, Russia)
• Geology and petrology of enormous volumes of impact melt on the Moon: A case study of the Orientale basin impact melt sea (talk, abstract)
• Very low-fO2 crystallization of Mercury surface compositions: Implications for the mineralogy of Mercury (talk, abstract)
8. MESSENGER Science Team Meeting 27 (7–9 August 2012, Salem, MA)
• Lunar analogs for Mercury's hollows? (talk)
9. Lunar Science Forum (17–19 July 2012, Moffett Field, CA)
• Geology and petrology of massive impact melt deposits: A case study of the Orientale basin melt lake (talk)
• Ina: Lunar sublimation terrain? (poster)
10. Second Conference on the Lunar Highlands Crust (13–15 July 2012, Bozeman, MT)
• Geology and petrology of massive impact melt deposits: A case study of the Orientale basin melt lake (talk)
11. MESSENGER Science Team Meeting 26 (8–10 May 2012, Vancouver, BC, Canada)
• Synthesis of spinifex-textured komatiites: implications for Mercury (talk)
• Is crustal S from an FeS anticrust? (talk)
12. European Geosciences Union General Assembly 2012 (22–27 April 2012, Vienna, Austria)
• Lunar Orientale Basin Melt Lake: Depth and Differentiation (talk)
13. European Lunar Symposium (19–20 April 2012, Berlin, Germany)
• Lunar Orientale Basin Melt Lake: Depth and Differentiation (talk)
14. 43rd Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (19–23 March 2012, The Woodlands, TX)
• Hollow-Forming Layers in Impact Craters on Mercury: Massive Sulfide or Chloride Deposits Formed by Impact Melt Differentiation? (talk, abstract)
• Depth and Differentiation of the Orientale Melt Lake (poster, abstract)
• Spectral and Morphological Studies of Mercury's Hollows (abstract)
• Spectral Reflectance Measurements of Sulfides at the Planetary Emissivity Laboratory — Analogs for Hollow-Forming Material on Mercury? (abstract)
15. Brown University Planetary "Lunch Bunch" (23 February 2012, Providence, RI)
• Impact Melt Differentiation on Earth, Mercury, and the Moon (talk)
16. MESSENGER Science Team Meeting 25 (7–9 February 2012, Tempe, AZ)
• Sulfide liquids in mercurian magmas (talk)
• Natural and synthetic komatiite, sulfide, and chloride analogs for hollow-forming layers and the mercurian crust (talk)
• Hollow-forming layers in impact craters on Mercury: massive sulfide or chloride deposits formed by impact melt differentiation? (talk)
17. MESSENGER Science Team Meeting 24 (8–10 November 2011, Annapolis, MD)
• Impact Melt Differentiation: A Model for the Origin of Hollow Forming Layers on Mercury (talk)
18. 42nd Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (7–11 March 2011, The Woodlands, TX)
• Provenance of Impact Melt and Granulite Clasts in Lunar Meteorite PCA 02007 (poster, abstract)
• Chondrule-Composition Melts: Response of Fe and Ti Valence to Changing Redox Conditions (abstract)

1. Lunar impacts created seas of molten rock, March 2013 (article, top of /r/science)
• "The research, led by graduate student William Vaughan, shows that the impact event that formed the Orientale basin on the Moon’s western edge and far side produced a sea of melted rock 220 miles across and at least six miles deep."
2. In search of Cumberlandite, March 2013 (article)
• "My guide: Will Vaughan, 23, a Brown University planetary geology grad student who looks like a young, less menacing Willem Defoe. Slight and soft spoken, he considers questions carefully before answering, is quick to admit when he doesn't have the answer, and is not at all surprised that a reporter is interested in a man who studies rocks. "Who wouldn't be?" he says."
3. Recently Named Mercury Craters Honor Blues Singer and Animation Pioneer, December 2012 (article)
• "Kawanabe Kyosai, 19th century Japanese artist and now namesake of Kyosai crater on Mercury, changed the first character of his name from one meaning 'crazy' in Japanese to one meaning 'enlightenment' upon being released from prison," notes William Vaughan, a Ph.D. student at Brown University who, as a member of MESSENGER's Geology Discipline Group, was involved in selecting the names. "I hope that careful study of Kyosai crater will similarly reward us with enlightenment about Mercury's enigmatic geology."
4. The May Day myth, May 2011 (article)
• "Will Vaughan, a fourth-year in the College, president of the Ryerson Astronomical Society, and self-described sundial enthusiast [...]"

I last updated this webpage 14 March 2013.