Meenakshi Wadhwa is a planetary scientist and educator who studies the formation and evolution of the Solar System through the analysis of planetary materials including meteorites, Moon rocks and other extraterrestrial samples returned by spacecraft missions. She is director of the School of Earth and Space Exploration at

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

. She has been appointed as the vice chancellor for Marine Sciences,

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean * Dean Sw ...

of the School of Marine, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences, and director of

Scripps Institution of Oceanography Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) is the center for oceanography and Earth science at the University of California, San Diego. Its main campus is located in La Jolla, with additional facilities in Point Loma. Founded in 1903 and incorpo ...

at the

University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego in communications material, formerly and colloquially UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California, United States. Es ...

Career

Meenakshi Wadhwa received her Ph.D. in earth and planetary sciences in 1994 from

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) is a private research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1853 by a group of civic leaders and named for George Washington, the university spans 355 acres across its Danforth ...

. She was a postdoctoral research geochemist at the University of California, San Diego (1994–95), and then became curator of meteorites at

Field Museum of Natural History The Field Museum of Natural History (FMNH), also known as The Field Museum, is a natural history museum in Chicago, Illinois, and is one of the largest such museums in the world. The museum is popular for the size and quality of its educationa ...

(1995–2006). She served as director of the Center for Meteorite Studies at

from 2006 till 2019, where she oversaw the curation of one of the largest university-based

meteorite A meteorite is a rock (geology), rock that originated in outer space and has fallen to the surface of a planet or Natural satellite, moon. When the original object enters the atmosphere, various factors such as friction, pressure, and chemical ...

collections, and a variety of research and educational activities. She was appointed as director of ASU's School of Earth and Space Exploration as of July 1, 2019. She has searched for meteorites in Antarctica with the Antarctic Search for Meteorites (

ANSMET ANSMET (Antarctic Search for Meteorites) is a program funded by the Office of Polar Programs of the National Science Foundation that looks for meteorites in the Transantarctic Mountains. This geographical area serves as a collection point for met ...

) Program during two field seasons (2002–03 and 2012–13). She has served as a science team member on a number of

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

planetary science missions including

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Religion * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of humankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Bo ...

and

Mars Science Laboratory Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) is a robotic spacecraft, robotic space probe mission to Mars launched by NASA on November 26, 2011, which successfully landed ''Curiosity (rover), Curiosity'', a Mars rover, in Gale (crater), Gale Crater on Augus ...

. She was PI of a proposal for Sample Collection for the Investigation of Mars (SCIM) to the NASA Discovery program in 2010. She is a distinguished visiting scientist at the

Jet Propulsion Laboratory The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a Federally funded research and development centers, federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) in La Cañada Flintridge, California, Crescenta Valley, United States. Founded in 1936 by Cali ...

and also serves as the principal scientist for the Mars Sample Return program. She was appointed to several roles at the University of California, San Diego, including director of Scripps Institution of Oceanography, as of July 16, 2025, and is slated to join the university on October 1, 2025.

Awards and honors

In 1999 she was awarded the asteroid name 8356 Wadhwa by the

International Astronomical Union The International Astronomical Union (IAU; , UAI) is an international non-governmental organization (INGO) with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach, education, and developmen ...

(IAU). She was awarded the

Nier Prize The Nier Prize is named after Alfred O. C. Nier. It is awarded annually by the Meteoritical Society The Meteoritical Society is a non-profit scholarly organization founded in 1933 to promote research and education in planetary science with emph ...

in 2000, a

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...

in 2005, and the J. Lawrence Smith Medal by the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...

in 2021. Wadhwa is an elected fellow of the

Meteoritical Society The Meteoritical Society is a non-profit scholarly organization founded in 1933 to promote research and education in planetary science with emphasis on studies of meteorites and other extraterrestrial materials that further our understanding of th ...

(2006), the Explorers Club (2012), the

American Geophysical Union The American Geophysical Union (AGU) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization of Earth, Atmospheric science, atmospheric, Oceanography, ocean, Hydrology, hydrologic, Astronomy, space, and Planetary science, planetary scientists and enthusiasts that ...

(2019), and the

Geochemical Society The Geochemical Society is a nonprofit scientific organization founded to encourage the application of chemistry to solve problems involving geology and cosmology. The society promotes understanding of geochemistry through the annual Goldschmidt Co ...

(2021). She was elected to membership in the

in 2023.

References

External links

Meenakshi Wadhwa on her Career, Women in Science and Spending Four Months in a Wheelchair

The Woman Who Gets Called When a Piece of Mars Falls from the Sky

Meenakshi Wadhwa’s Arizona State University School of Earth & Space Exploration webpage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wadhwa, Meenakshi Living people Planetary scientists American people of Indian descent American women astronomers Women planetary scientists Arizona State University faculty Fellows of the Explorers Club 21st-century American explorers Year of birth missing (living people) Fellows of the American Geophysical Union Washington University in St. Louis alumni Panjab University alumni