Erik Fischer

Education

• Ph.D. Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering, University of Michigan, 2018, Thesis: “Experimental Study of the Formation of Liquid Saline Water on Mars”
• M.S.E. Aerospace Engineering, University of Michigan, 2012
• Aerospace Engineering, TU Braunschweig, Germany, 2007-2011

Professional Service

• Science team collaborator on the Mars2020 mission, MEDA instrument
• Science team collaborator on the Mars Science Laboratory, REMS instrument
• Peer reviewer for Nature Astronomy, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Planetary and Space Science, Earth Moon and Planets, and Canadian Journal of Physics
• Science outreach: Invited talk at Ann Arbor Science and Sceptics
• Guest lecturer in GERMAN 232: Scientific German, 2013-2018
• Graduate Student Instructor in ASTRO 142: From the Big Bang to the Milky Way, 2012
• Student Instructor in Computer Science for Engineers, TU Braunschweig, 2010
• Student Instructor in Materials Science, TU Braunschweig, 2009-2010

Research Interests

• Experimental simulation of Martian environmental conditions
• Experimental and theoretical studies of brine formation on Mars
• Raman spectroscopy
• In-situ environmental measurements on Mars, instrumentation and calibration
• Ion mass spectrometer development and data analysis

Awards

• NASA Mars Science Laboratory Extended Mission-1 Group Achievement Award, 2017
• NASA Mars Science Laboratory Group Achievement Award, 2015
• DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) Full Scholarship, 2011-2012
• TU Braunschweig Scholarship, 2010-2011

Publications

Refereed Journal Publications:

1. Martínez, G. M., A. Vicente-Retortillo, E. Fischer, N. O. Rennó, H. Savijärvi, A. R., Vasavada, M. T. Lemmon, S. D. Guzewich, and J. Gómez-Elvira, Atmospheric radiative forcing at Gale Crater, Mars, during the 2018/Mars Year 34 global dust storm, Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets (in preparation), 2019.
2. Savijärvi, H., G. M. Martínez, E. Fischer, N. O. Renno, L. K. Tamppari, A. Zent, and A.-M. Harri, Humidity observations and column simulations for a warm period at the polar Mars Phoenix lander site, Icarus (under review), 2019.
3. Fischer, E., G. M. Martínez, N. Renno, L. K. Tamppari and A. Zent, Relative Humidity on Mars: New Results from the Phoenix TECP Sensor, Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets (early view), 2019.
4. Rennó, N., R. Backhus, C. Cooper, J. M. Flatico, E. Fischer, L. C. Greer, M. J. Krasowski, T. Kremic, G. M. Martínez, N. F. Prokop and A. Vicente-Retortillo, A Simple Instrument Suite for Characterizing Habitability and Weathering: The Modern Aqueous Habitat Reconnaissance Suite (MAHRS), Astrobiology, 19(7), 2019.
5. Martínez, G. M., C. N. Newman, A. De Vicente-Retortillo, E. Fischer, N. O. Renno, M. I. Richardson, A. G. Fairén, S. D. Guzewich, R. M. Haberle, O. Kemppinen, M. T. Lemmon, M. D. Smith, M. de la Torre-Juárez and A. R. Vasavada, The Modern Near-Surface Martian Climate: A Review of In-situ Meteorological Data from Viking to Curiosity, Space Science Reviews, 212(1-2), 295-338, 2017.
6. Fischer, E., G. M. Martínez, and N. O. Rennó, Formation and persistence of liquid brine in the Martian polar region: Experimental analysis throughout the diurnal cycle at the Phoenix landing site, Astrobiology, 16(12), 937-948, 2016.
7. Fischer, E., Searching for liquid brine on Mars using Raman spectroscopy, Física de la Tierra, 28, 181-195, 2016 (invited).
8. Martínez, G. M., E. Fischer, N. O. Rennó, E. Sebastián, O. Kemppinen, N. Bridges, C. S. Borlina, P.-Y. Meslin, M. Genzer, A.-M. Harri, A. Vicente-Retortillo, M. Ramos, M. de la Torre Juárez, F. Gómez, J. Gómez-Elvira and the REMS Team, Likely frost events at Gale crater: Analysis from MSL/REMS measurements, Icarus, 280, 93-102, 2016.
9. Fischer, E., G. M. Martínez, H. Elliott, and N. O. Rennó, Experimental evidence for the formation of liquid saline water on Mars. Geophysical Research Letters, 41(13), 4456-4462, 2014.
10. Martínez, G. M., N. O. Rennó, E. Fischer, C. S. Borlina, B. Hallet, M. de la Torre-Juárez, A. Vasavada, M. Ramos, V. Hamilton, J. Gómez-Elvira, R. M. Haberle, and the REMS Team, Surface Energy Budget and Thermal Inertia at Gale Crater: Calculations from Ground-Based Measurements, Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, 119.8: 1822-1838, 2014.

Selected Conference Presentations:

• Fischer, E., Martínez, G.M., Renno, N.O., 2018. Analysis of Recalibrated Phoenix Relative Humidity Sensor Data. European Planetary Science Congress, vol. 12. Berlin, Germany.
• Fischer, E., Martínez, G.M., Renno, N.O., 2018. The Phoenix Lander’s Relative Humidity Sensor Calibration: New Results and Analysis. Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, vol. 49. The Woodlands, TX, USA.
• Fischer, E., Martínez, G.M., Renno, N.O., 2017. Results of the Phoenix Relative Humidity Sensor Recalibration. American Geophysical Union. New Orleans, LA, USA.
• Fischer, E., Martínez, G.M., Neamati, D., Renno, N.O., 2017. The Formation of Frost and Liquid Brines on Spacecraft Materials at Mars Environmental Conditions. AAS/Division for Planetary Sciences Meeting Abstracts, vol. 49. Provo, UT, USA.
• Fischer, E., Martínez, G.M., Renno, N.O., 2017. Recalibration and Analysis of the Phoenix Relative Humidity Sensor Data. Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, vol. 48. The Woodlands, TX, USA.
• Fischer, E., Martínez, G.M., Renno, N.O., 2017. Experimental Recreation of the Diurnal Cycle at the Phoenix Landing Site – Investigating the Formation and Persistence of Brine. 6th Mars Atmosphere Modeling and Observation Workshop. Granada, Spain.
• Fischer, E., Martínez, G.M., Renno, N.O., Tamppari, L., Zent, A., 2015. Analysis of the Phoenix Mission’s Thermal and Electrical Conductivity Probe (TECP) Relative Humidity Data. American Geophysical Union. San Francisco, CA, USA.
• Fischer, E., Martínez, G.M., Elliott, H., Renno, N. O., 2014. Experimental Evidence for the Formation of Liquid Brines on Mars. Abgradcon 2014. Troy, NY, USA.
• Fischer, E., Martinez, G., Elliott, H., Borlina, C., Renno, N.O., 2014. Experimental Demonstration of the Formation of Liquid Brines under Martian Polar Conditions in the Michigan Mars Environmental Chamber. In EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts (Vol. 16), Vienna, Austria.
• Fischer, E., Martinez, G.M., Elliott, H.M., Borlina, C.S., Renno, N.O., 2013. The Michigan Mars Environmental Chamber: Preliminary Results and Capabilities. American Geophysical Union. San Francisco, CA, USA.
• Fischer, E., Backhus, R.F., Elliott, H.M., Martinez, G.M., Renno, N.O., 2013. A Miniature Soil Wetness Sensor to Detect Brines on Mars and Beyond. Astrobiology Graduate Conference 2013. Montreal, QC, CAN.