Rate My Professor David Catling

His research specializes in planetary atmospheres, biogeochemistry, planetary geomorphology, and astrobiology, with a focus on the co-evolution of planetary surfaces, atmospheres, and life. Catling examines factors that render planets habitable, drawing on data from Earth, Mars, Venus, and exoplanets across disciplines including astronomy, biology, and geology. He contributed to NASA’s Phoenix Mars Lander mission as part of its 35-person science team, which successfully operated in Mars' northern polar region in 2008. Key publications include the popular science book Astrobiology: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press, 2013) and the scholarly text Atmospheric Evolution on Inhabited and Lifeless Worlds (Cambridge University Press, 2017, co-authored with James F. Kasting). Other notable works are “Biogenic methane, hydrogen escape, and the irreversible oxidation of early Earth” (Science, 2001), “The Archean atmosphere” (Science Advances, 2020, with Kevin J. Zahnle), and contributions to understanding perchlorate chemistry on Mars (Science, 2009). In recognition of his fundamental contributions to the co-evolution of Earth’s environment and atmosphere, including the rise of oxygen and origins of life, Catling was elected a 2026 Geochemistry Fellow by the Geochemical Society and the European Association of Geochemistry. His scholarship has significantly influenced planetary science and astrobiology.