Welcome to the website of
Jack Sheehan
A PhD student at Harvard University studying planetary science.
Welcome to the website of
A PhD student at Harvard University studying planetary science.
John (Jack) Sheehan
I'm a PhD student candidate in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Harvard University, working with Dr. Rebecca Fischer. Most of my interests revolve around the physics and chemistry of planet formation.
Before coming to Harvard, I graduated with a BS in Geophysics and a BA in German Studies from Rice University. Now, my research focuses on understanding how impacts and core–mantle differentiation shape planetary interiors and surfaces. To do this, I combine high-pressure and high-temperature experiments with numerical modeling to study material properties during planetary differentiation. I consider myself both an experimentalist and a modeler.
I'll use this website to showcase my research with as little technical jargon as possible. I believe academic language is a significant barrier to accessible science, which is an issue I hope to combat throughout my career. This site embodies my desire to make research more appealing to those not actively studying it. If you have any questions or comments about my work or anything else, please reach out! Thank you for reading. :)
Today I passed my quals!! In our department, this includes a written proposal and an oral exam. My written proposal was basically a fleshed-out version of my FINESST proposal, and is currently the piece of writing I am most proud of. For my oral exam, I started with my slides from my presentation at last year's First-Year Symposium, but it quickly grew into a 100-slide behemoth.
The exam itself wasn't bad—my committee was very nice and seemed genuinely interested in my topic. I spent so much time stressing, but by the time I actually gave my presentation I was honestly just excited. Looking forward, my next big department-required milestone will be my dissertation, so this is an interesting point in my program. It feels very exciting but also scary. These next three years feel like the "real" PhD.
In February 2024, I applied for the Future Investigators in NASA Earth and Space Science and Technologies Grant, a grant for grad students to receive up to three years of funding for a research proposal. I just found out that my proposal was selected!! I am overjoyed—this proposal felt like the culmination of an entire year of brainstorming and planning. With my quals coming up soon, this is a huge boost and weight off my shoulders. :)
If you're interested in applying and want to see some examples, my proposal (and many others) can be found here. Side note: should it be pronounced "finest" or "finessed?" Nobody seems to be sure!
After five years and two degrees at Rice University, this fall I'll be heading to Boston to pursue my PhD in the Mineral Physics Lab at Harvard University! I will be working with Dr. Rebecca Fischer. I honestly have no idea what I'll be working on or what the future holds, but I'm really excited to take this leap. A year ago today I would never have even considered grad school—I was worried I'd even be able to graduate and get a job! This year has been such a whirlwind, I hardly know what to think. What I do know though is that I am going to make this opportunity count.
11 months after starting my research at Georgia Tech, I successfully defended my senior honors thesis! I've put more work into these 35 pages than anything so far in my academic career, so this moment feels a little surreal. For my work on my thesis, I received a Distinction in Research Award and the Sam Worden Endowed Memorial Award in Geophysics.
My thesis can be accessed here: https://doi.org/10.25611/MF2H-9609
This summer, I'll be participating in the Incorporated Research Institute for Seismology (IRIS) Internship. One of the most interesting components of the program is a weekly blog post which you can find here, but which I'll also be posting here to the Blog Page.
My advisor will be Dr. Zhigang Peng at Georgia Tech, and I will be working with a team investigating intermediate depth earthquakes. Specifically, I'll be applying a machine learning package typically used for automated earthquake detection to laboratory earthquakes. I can't wait to get started! :)