Jay Cessna

Hello! My name is Jay Cessna and I am a first year PhD student in the APS department of CU Boulder. My research interests encompass all things related to planetary magnetospheres, ranging from interactions with planetary atmospheres to smaller scale magnetospheric dynamics.

I graduated Summa Cum Laude with Distinction from the APS undergraduate program in 2023 with minors in Applied Mathematics and Space. During my time in undergrad, I primarily worked on modeling atmospheric escape from Mars-like planets to investigate the role of magnetic fields in atmospheric loss and planetary habitability.

After graduation, I worked as a Science Data Analyst on the MAVEN/IUVS team at LASP studying the various types of auroras on Mars. Primarily, I looked at the upstream drivers of discrete aurora at Mars outside of the crustal fields and their roles in auroral morphology and occurrence rate. I also worked with other MAVEN instrument teams to investigate the auroral response to high energy Solar Energetic Particle events, resulting in two publications in prep.

Outside of research and academics, I love to bake, play games with friends, read a good thriller novel, and hang out with my two cats, Lily and Juno. Please reach out if you have any questions or would like to be in touch!