Singer received a Bachelor's degree in Astronomy and Anthropology from the University of Colorado Boulder. While there, she decided to pursue research in the fields of astrobiology and planetary science.[1] She studied abroad at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, during her undergrad, where she worked at the Australian Centre for Astrobiology. Upon returning to Boulder, she worked with Steve Mojzsis on her honors thesis project about using cyclic rhythmites to trace the length of a day over millions of years. She received a Ph.D. in Earth and Planetary Science from Washington University in St. Louis in 2013; her dissertation was titled Icy Satellite Tectonic, Geodynamic, and Mass Wasting Surface Features: Constraints on Interior Processes and Evolution.[2]
Research
Singer continued as a postdoctoral researcher at Washington University after receiving her Ph.D. In 2014, she joined the New Horizons team at SwRI as a postdoctoral researcher, where she studies the geophysics of Kuiper Belt Objects, particularly cratering physics.[3] At SwRI, she is a senior research scientist and Deputy Project Scientist for the New HorizonsExtended Mission.
In 2019, Singer and her team demonstrated from images of craters taken by New Horizons' Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LoRRI) that small Kuiper Belt Objects (less than one mile in diameter) are rare.[4][5][6][7][8] The results place constraints on formation and evolution models of the Solar System, suggesting that objects in the Kuiper Belt formed from rapidly collapsing dust clouds rather than incremental collisions of larger debris.[6]
Singer has coordinated and contributed to the 'Women in Planetary Science' blog site since 2009.[9] She has also contributed articles for the Planetary Society's website.[10]
^"Kelsi Singer". Women in Planetary Science: Female Scientists on Careers, Research, Space Science, and Work/Life Balance. Archived from the original on April 7, 2015. Retrieved 2020-11-12.
^"Kelsi Singer". The Planetary Society. Retrieved 2020-11-12.