Diana Valencia
Associate Professor, UTSC
Research:
Composition and Structure of Super-Earths and Mini-Neptunes, Formation processes and chemistry of Rocky Planets, Thermal evolution and Interior Dynamics of Rocky and Icy Planets
Education:
Ph.D. 2008, Harvard
The characterisation of the low-mass planets: super-Earths and mini-Neptunes. The former are planets that are mostly solid, either rocky or icy in composition, while the latter posses also a volatile
envelope. My goal is to determine if planets with masses between 1-15 Earth-masses are scaled up versions of Earth, or scaled-down versions of Neptune in terms of their composition, evolution and physical properties.
