Dr. Kynan Hughson is an assistant professor in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of New Brunswick Fredericton. At UNB, Dr. Hughson teaches Engineering Geology, Applied Remote Sensing, and the first-year field school. His long-term research focuses on understanding the geological, geophysical, and hydrological processes that shape the surfaces of the Earth, icy asteroids, and other worlds in our solar system.

Dr. Hughson’s current and proposed research takes aim at better understanding the periglacial geomorphology and hydrogeology of Earth and icy asteroids through a combination of active and passive remote sensing, computer modeling, and the geophysical examination of terrestrial polar analogs. He also works on future exploration technologies for assessing the subsurface composition of icy terrains on Earth and beyond. Specifically, Dr. Hughson’s active research projects are investigating the subsurface structure and composition of ice-cored hills, known as pingos, in northern Alaska and the Northwest Territories; the kinematics and evolution of rock glaciers in Alaska and Quebec’s Gaspé peninsula; permafrost-active layer dynamics and landscape evolution in northwestern Greenland; and the development of potential periglacial landforms on the dwarf planet Ceres.