Al Emran
Postdoc Fellow
About
Bio
Emran is a planetary astronomer with a broad range of research interests. He is currently a postdoctoral fellow at JPL working on characterizing the surface of Mars using NASA’s orbital spacecraft observations. During his Ph.D. at Arkansas, his research involved deciphering surfaces of trans-Neptunian and Kuiper belt objects, such as Triton and Pluto, using radiative scattering models, machine learning, and simulated laboratory experiments. He used orbital observations for an improved understanding of dunes on Mars during his graduate research at Auburn. He likes to continue his research emphasizing exploration of the solar system bodies (planets, moons, asteroids, and icy bodies) and beyond (exoplanets).
Education
Ph.D. in Space and Planetary Sciences, University of Arkansas
MS in Geography [Planetary Geoscience], Auburn University
MS in Physical Geography, University of Dhaka
BS in Geography, Minor in Geology, University of Dhaka
Research Interests
Planetary Astronomy, Spectroscopy, Machine Learning, Photometry, Icy Bodies
Topic Area(s)
Search Keyword(s)
Experience
Professional Experience
2023 ‑ JPL Postdoc Fellow, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology
2021 ‑ 2022 Graduate Assistant, Data Science Program, University of Arkansas
2021 Graduate Assistant, Center for Space and Planetary Sciences, University of Arkansas
2020 Graduate Assistant, Department of Physics, University of Arkansas
2019 ‑ 2020 Graduate Assistant, Center for Space and Planetary Sciences, University of Arkansas
2017 ‑ 2019 Graduate Assistant, Department of Geosciences, Auburn University
2015 ‑ 2017 Research Assistant, Department of Architecture, BRAC University
2014 ‑ 2015 Graduate Assistant, Department of Geography and Environment, University of Dhaka
Research Community Service
External reviewer : NASA’s Planetary Data Archiving, Restoration, and Tools (PDART) Proposal
Internal reviewer : JPL Proposal (Planetary Science R&A)
Journal Reviewer : Earth and Space Science; Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets; Icarus
Achievements
Awards & Recognitions
- Professional Society and External Organization Awards | International Astronomical Union (IAU) | Asteroid (28646) Alemran (2023)
- Professional Society and External Organization Awards | Lunar and Planetary Institute | LPI Career Development Award (2019)
Publications
PUBLISHED
Emran, A. and K. Stack. 2025. Understanding Compositional Evolution of Hollows at Dominici Crater, Mercury. Icarus. DOI 10.1016/j.icarus.2025.116576
Emran, A., Cruikshank, D. P., Ahrens, C. J., Moore, J. M., White, O. L., 2025. Kiladze Caldera: A possible cryovolcano on Pluto. Planet. Sci. J. DOI: 10.3847/PSJ/adb1e1
Emran, A. J. Tarnas, and K. Stack. 2025. Global Distribution of Serpentine on Mars. Geophysical Research Letters. DOI 10.1029/2024GL110630
Emran, A., Dalle Ore, C. M., Cruikshank, D. P., and Cook, J. C., 2023. Surface Composition of Pluto’s Kiladze Area and Relationship to Cryovolcanism. Icarus 404.
Emran, A., Dalle Ore, C. M., Ahrens, C. J., Khan, K., Chevrier, V.F., and Cruikshank, D. P., 2023. Pluto’s Surface Mapping using Unsupervised Learning from Near‑Infrared Observations of LEISA/Ralph. Planet. Sci. J. 4(1):15.
Emran, A., Chevrier, V.F., 2023. Discrepancy in Grain Size Estimation of H2O ice in the Outer Solar System. Res. in Astronomy and Astrophysics. DOI 10.1088/1674‑4527/acb9db.
Emran, A., and Chevrier, V.F., 2022. Uncertainty in Grain Size Estimation of Volatiles on Trans‑Neptunian Objects and Kuiper Belt Objects. The Astronomical Journal. 163, 196.
Emran, A., Marzen, L.J., King, D.T., Chevrier, V.F., 2020. Thermophysical and Compositional Analyses of Dunes at Hargraves Crater, Mars. Planet. Sci. J. 2(6):218.
Emran, A., Marzen, L.J., King, D.T., 2020. Semiautomated Identification and Characterization of Dunes at Hargraves Crater, Mars. Earth and Space Science 7, e2019EA000935.
Emran, A., Roy S., et al., 2018. Assessing topographic controls on vegetation characteristics in CHT from remotely sensed data. Rem. Sens. App.: Soc. and Env. 11, 198–208.
Emran, A., Rob M.A., Kabir M.H., 2017. Coastline change and erosion‑accretion evolution of Sandwip Island, Bangladesh. Int. Jr. of Applied Geospatial Res.. 8(2):3.
Emran, A., Rob M.A., Kabir M.H, Islam M.N., 2016. Modeling spatio‑temporal shoreline and areal dynamics of coastal island using geospatial technique. Mod. Earth Sys. and Env. 2(4).
A. Khuller and Emran, A. 2025. Quantitative Evaluation of the delta‑Eddington, Hapke, and Shkuratov Models for Predicting the Albedo and Inferring the Grain Radius of Ice. [Icarus]