Forschungsinteressen
I am a geologist with a keen interest in planetary volcanism. My research combines remote sensing observations of volcanic regions on the surface of Mars with the geochemistry of Martian meteorites. At MPS, I investigate the chronology and magmatic evolution of the depleted shergottite suite, a group of meteorites that share a common 1.1 Ma ejection age and record at least two billion years of volcanic activity near the proposed ejection site.
Vita
Awards and Fellowships:
2026: Outstanding TA in Upper Level Class, University of Houston
2026: 32nd Dobrin Lecture (2nd Place), University of Houston
2025: American Federation of Mineralogical Societies Scholarship
2025: 38th Student Research Day (1st Place), University of Houston
2025: Excellent Graduate Student Award by EAS Department, University of Houston
2025: 31st Dobrin Lecture (1st Place), University of Houston
Education and Employment:
June 2026 – Present: Ph.D. in Geology, Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, Germany
August 2024 – May 2026: Ph.D. in Geology (transferred after completing seven graduate courses GPA: 3.95/4.00), University of Houston, USA
2022 – 2023: M.Sc. in Geology with distinction, University of Cape Town, South Africa
2017: B.Sc. Honours in Geology, University of Pretoria, South Africa
2014 – 2016: B.Sc. in Geology, University of Pretoria, South Africa
Selected Publications:
Aucamp, T., Howarth, G. H. Peel, C. J., Costin, G., Day, J. M. D., le Roux, P., Scott, J. M., Greshake, A., and Bartoschewitz, R. (2023), Petrogenesis of the Dar al Gani (DaG) 1.1 Ma Ejection-Paired Olivine-Phyric Shergottites and Implications for ~470 Ma Martian Volcanism. Meteoritics & Planetary Science 58: 1654-1676.
doi:10.1111/maps.14090
Lenhardt, N., Bleeker, W., Ngwa, C. N. and Aucamp, T. (2020), Shallow marine basaltic volcanism of the Machadodorp Member (Silverton Formation, Pretoria Group), Transvaal Basin, South Africa—An example of Paleoproterozoic explosive intraplate volcanic activity in an epeiric embayment. Precambrian Research 338:105580.
doi:10.1016/j.precamres.2019.105580