Dr. My Riebe
Dr. My Riebe
Lecturer at the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences
Additional information
Research area
My research investigates how the solar system formed and evolved by studying the composition of extraterrestrial materials. I’m especially interested in volatile elements and organics—the building blocks of life as we know it. In the lab, I employ a range of high-tech tools, including noble gas mass spectrometry, Raman spectroscopy, NanoSIMS, and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM).
Currently, my PhD student and I are focused on studying extraterrestrial dust particles. These tiny grains, expelled from comets and asteroids during collisions and outgassing, are the most pristine solar system materials we can access. Virtually unmodified since their parent bodies formed some 4.6 billion years ago, they give an exciting glimpse into the infancy of our solar system. We want to understand what these building blocks of the solar system look like, and we are investigating whether dust particles could have delivered life-essential volatile elements and organics to the early Earth.
However, perfect samples are hard to come by. The dust grains heat up when they collide with Earth's atmosphere, altering their original state. To understand how heating affects our samples, we conduct experiments. Another fun challenge is their tiny size—comparable to the width of a human hair! This requires us to develop special handling methods and use high-sensitivity tools to analyze them. But the hard work pays off because these samples are truly one-of-a-kind!
The upcoming Lunar Gateway space station which will orbit the Moon is a unique opportunity to study extraterrestrial dust in a clean environment. I'm a part of ESA's Facility Definition Team for dust science on the Lunar Gateway space station, where I help prioritize scientific exploration objectives and define essential measurements to fulfil those objectives.
A few years ago, I had the privilege of being part of the early analysis team in JAXA's sample return mission to asteroid Ryugu. Together with my colleagues, I analyzed noble gases in bulk material, container gases, and macromolecular organic matter. This mission was a unique opportunity to study samples that had never been exposed to Earth's atmosphere. Unlike meteorites, which always have some degree of terrestrial alteration and whose parent asteroids are usually unknown, sample return missions provide us with untainted samples and precise origins.
Beyond my research, I’m enthusiastic about improving management and leadership in academia. I've earned a Project Management Professional (PMP) certificate, which has helped me develop an agile project management approach suitable for experimental research. Currently, I’m pursuing a Master of Advanced Studies in Management, Technology, and Economics at ETH.
CV
Employment
Since 2021: Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) Ambizione Fellow, Institute of Geochemistry and Petrology, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
2020-2021: Senior Researcher (Oberassistentin), Institute of Geochemistry and Petrology, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
2019-2020 Postdoctoral Researcher, Institute of Geochemistry and Petrology, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
2016-2018 Postdoctoral Researcher, Carnegie Science, Washington DC, USA
Education
2023-2025: Master of Advanced Studies (MAS) in Management, Technology and Economics, ETH Zürich, Switzerland
2016: PhD in Cosmochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry and Petrology, ETH Zürich, Switzerland. Advisors: Prof. Maria Schönbächler, Prof. Rainer Wieler, Dr. Henner Busemann, Dr. Matthias M.M. Meier
2012: M.Sc. in Geology, Department of Geology, Lund University, Sweden, including a year (2010) studying abroad at The University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia. MSc thesis advisor: Prof. Birger Schmitz
2012: B.Sc. in Geology, Department of Geology, Lund University. BSc thesis advisor: Dr. Carl Alwmark, Prof. Birger Schmitz
Research funding
2020 Ambizione Fellowship, Swiss National Science Foundation “Unlocking the origin of Earth’s volatiles” Swiss National Science Foundation (CHF 903 697).
2019 Collaborator on NASA Emerging Worlds “Physical and compositional structure of heterogeneous asteroid 2008 TC3 from new samples of the Almahata Sitta meteorite” #80NSSC19K0507 PI: Cyrena A. Goodrich
2016 Early postdoc mobility award, Swiss National Science Foundation (USD 78 000)
Conference organization
2023 Developments in Noble Gas understanding and expertise, Monte Verità, Ascona, Switzerland
2020 Goldschmidt Conference, session chair.
2019 Developments in Noble Gas understanding and expertise, Zürich, Switzerland
Selected committees
2023 Chair of the McKay Award Committee, the Meteoritical Society.
2023 – ongoing European Space Agency Facility Definition Team member, Active Sensors for Telemetry of Extraterrestrial Impactors At Gateway (ASTERIA).
2023 – ongoing Member of Extraterrestrial Materials Analysis Group (ExMAG) Microparticle Subcommittee
2021 Member for the Pete Burnard Award Committee
2021 Member of Annual Meeting of the Meteoritical Society Travel Award Committee
2019 – 2022 Team member of JAXA’s Haybusa2 sample return, volatile sub-team.
Student supervision
since 2021 PhD main advisor, Nicola Allen, ETH Zürich
2020-2021 PhD co-advisor, Cornelia Mertens, ETH Zürich
2020 MSc main advisor, Tiziano Sinatra, ETH Zürich
2019-2020 PhD co-advisor, Daniela Krietsch, ETH Zürich
2019-2020 PhD co-advisor, Patrizia Will, ETH Zürich
2019 MSc semester project co-advisor, Marc Halfar, ETH Zürich
2019 BSc co-advisor, Sandrine Ritter, ETH Zürich
2019 BSc co-advisor, Philipp Steinegger, ETH Zürich
2015 MSc co-advisor, Seraina Holinger, ETH Zürich
2014 BSc co-advisor, Tanja Schmid, ETH Zürich
Teaching
2023 Workshops on agile project management to PhD students, Earth Sciences, ETH Zurich
since 2022 Lecturer, Topics in Geochemistry, Earth Sciences, ETH Zurich
2020-2021 Tutor, Integrierte Erdsysteme 1, Earth Sciences, ETH Zurich
2013 Teaching assistant, Crystals and Minerals, Earth Sciences, ETH Zurich