Noah Randolph-Flagg (方诺然)

Education 

2019                            Ph.D., Earth & Planetary Science, University of California at Berkeley;

advisor: Michael Manga

2011                             B.A., Geology, Carleton College, magna cum laude;

Certificate of Advanced Language Study in Chinese

2006                           Harvard Summer Session, Astrobiology and Political Philosophy

Work Experience

2025 - present Assistant Professor, Dept. Earth and Environmental Science, U. Kentucky, Lexington, KY

Environmental Earth Science (EES 110; 2025)

Critical Minerals for a Changing Climate (EES 460/680; 2026)

Python, ML, and Data Science for Earth Science (EES 370, 2026)

Volcanology (EES 460/680; 2027)

2023 - 2024 Lecturer, “Environmental Geology”, UC Berkeley, CA

2021- 2024 Scientist, Blue Marble Space at NASA Ames, Mountain View, CA

2019-2021                   NASA Postdoctoral Fellow, NASA Ames, Mountain View, CA,                                                      

Exobiology, supervisor: Tori Hoehler

2018                            Instructor, Planet Earth, Summer Session, UC Berkeley, CA

2013-2016                   Graduate Student Instructor, UC Berkeley
Planet Earth

Structural Geology

Stratigraphy and Earth History

2012-2018                    Pathways Intern, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Menlo Park, CA

Volcano Hazards, advisor: Shaul Hurwitz, Steve Ingebritsen

2010-2011                    Teaching Assistant, Carleton College
Geomorphology

Environmental Geology

2009-2011                    Hydrologic Technician, Volcano Hazards, USGS, Menlo Park, CA

Awards and Fellowships

2023 NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal

2019-2021                    NASA Postdoctoral Fellowship, NASA Ames

2017                             Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor, UC Berkeley

2015                             Outstanding Student Paper Award, talk, AGU Fall Meeting

2015                             NSF East Asia Pacific Summer Research Fellowship, Taiwan

2013-2016                    NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, Hydrology

2011-2012                    Fulbright Student Research Fellowship, Hydrology, Xi’an, China

2008                              Kolenkow-Reitz Fellowship for Undergraduate Research, Carleton College

Grants

2026-2029 NSF CAIG, “HydrotherML: ML-Accelerated Hydrothermal Modeling,” PI

2026-2031 NASA ICAR, “Investigating Ocean Worlds”, Co-I

2025-2028 NASA PSD, “Effect of climate on habitability of Martian hot springs,” Co-I

2025-2026 UK Energy RPA, “Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy of Li source rocks”, PI

Publications

Service and Public Outreach

• Member of steering committee, Network for Ocean Worlds (NOW) -- NASA Astrobiology Research Coordination Network

• Reviewer NASA, NSF, UK Space Agency, GRL, Icarus, GSA Bulletin, Chemical Geology, PEPI, etc.

• Served on 6 thesis committees, curriculum committee developing new climate major, 2 faculty search committees since starting in January 2025.

• Featured in PBS's Physics Girl YouTube video on Hawaiian Volcanism. ~7M views

• Bishop column research featured in ABC 10 Sacramento, LA Times, Washington Post, Minneapolis Star Tribune, Le Temps (French, Switzerland), Epoch Times (Chinese), Phys.org, The Sheet, Frankfurt General Newspaper (German), and West Hawaii Today.

• Graduate Student Mentor (2012-2015) UC Berkeley New Experiences for Research & Diversity in Science (NERDS)

• “NOVA: World’s Deadliest Volcanoes,” PBS NOVA, WGBH Boston, 04 January 2012.

Skills and Interests

• English (native), Chinese (conversational)

• Experience with Python, R, MATLAB, Julia, Obspy, MSNoise, QGIS, EQ3/6, HYDROTHERM, Ash3D, HYSPLIT

• Competitive runner & triathlete.

Recent and Upcoming Conference presentation schedule (*student presenter)
2026 Planetary Science Community Workshop (Louisville)

• Greenberg*, Randolph-Flagg “Mineral zonation in a black smoker as a window into extreme life”

• Rosandich*, Randolph-Flagg “Lunar Dike Swarm Evolution in the South Pole–Aitken Basin Constrained by Magnetic Anomalies and Dike Propagation Models”

• Gribbins*, Maynard, Thompson, Hung, Randolph-Flagg “Dynamic Habitability of Subsurface Fractures Sustained by Distant Earthquakes”

• Benningfield*, Randolph-Flagg, Kang, “Mapping seafloor sediment blankets on Enceladus using global circulation models”

• Randolph-Flagg, Fisher, German, Hoehler “Energy and nutrient fluxes from hydrothermal vents on Enceladus and Europa”

2025 AGU Fall Meeting (New Orleans)

• Gribbins*, Maynard, Thompson, Hung, Randolph-Flagg “Fracture-Mediated Water Level Changes at a Groundwater Well in Virginia (2008-2025)”

• Randolph-Flagg, Fisher, German, Hoehler “Systematic changes in energy and nutrient fluxes from seafloor hydrothermal discharge on Enceladus and Europa”