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Reposted by Meenakshi Wadhwa

Scripps Institution of Oceanography @scrippsocean.bsky.social · 5d

#ICYMI, we shared some big news this week! 🎉 Scripps Institution of Oceanography at @ucsandiego.bsky.social is proud to welcome esteemed Earth and planetary scientist Meenakshi Wadhwa as the 12th director of our institution. 🪐 Hear directly from Dr. Wadhwa in this video: youtu.be/lbFLXM6BBbI?...

Introducing Meenakshi Wadhwa, Director of Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego

YouTube video by Scripps Oceanography

youtu.be

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Meenakshi Wadhwa @minwadhwa.bsky.social · 6d

So excited to be here to serve the @scrippsocean.bsky.social community, and advance our mission to understand and protect our planet!

Scripps Institution of Oceanography @scrippsocean.bsky.social · 7d

Learn more about @minwadhwa.bsky.social’s impressive career and what she’s looking forward to in her new role.
scripps.ucsd.edu/news/scripps...

Scripps Welcomes Meenakshi Wadhwa as New Director and Vice Chancellor

Today marks a new era in the history of Scripps Institution of Oceanography as Meenakshi Wadhwa takes the reins as the 12th director of Scripps and as vice chancellor for marine sciences at the Univer...

scripps.ucsd.edu

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Meenakshi Wadhwa @minwadhwa.bsky.social · 25d

Amazed by Gaudi’s city…

The neo-Gothic facade of the church of Sagrada Família in Barcelona

Inside the main entrance of Gaudi’s La Pedrera (Casa Milà)

On the rooftop of Gaudi’s La Pedrera (Casa Mila)

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Meenakshi Wadhwa @minwadhwa.bsky.social · 27d

Tantalizing— but needs confirmation through careful analyses in laboratories in Earth. This is why we must bring back the samples that Perseverance has so carefully documented and collected!

Nature @nature.com · 27d

Nature research paper: Redox-driven mineral and organic associations in Jezero Crater, Mars

go.nature.com/4n0h3Am

Redox-driven mineral and organic associations in Jezero Crater, Mars - Nature

A geological, petrographic and geochemical survey of distinctive mudstone and conglomerate outcrops of the Bright Angel formation on Mars reveals textures, chemical and mineral characteristics, and organic signatures that warrant consideration as potential biosignatures.

go.nature.com

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Meenakshi Wadhwa @minwadhwa.bsky.social · 29d

YES!!

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Meenakshi Wadhwa @minwadhwa.bsky.social · 29d

Dubai at night… including amazing views of and from the top of Burj Khalifa!

View looking up from the base of Burj Khalifa

View from the top of Burj Khalifa of Dubai at night, tall buildings and city lights

View of the very futuristic oval-shaped Museum of the Future at night.

View of the “human waterfall” in the Dubai Mall.

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Meenakshi Wadhwa @minwadhwa.bsky.social · Aug 30

Snapshots from a memorable penultimate week in AZ… (picture of the Haboob courtesy of @astrodocscott.bsky.social & that of the gorgeous cake thanks to Kim Baptista)!

A monstrously huge dust storm behind a building, with a pool in the foreground.

Picture of me (on left) and my husband (on right), with Pinnacle Peak (North Scottsdale) in the background on left side.

Beautiful flower arrangement (orange roses, pink tulips, eucalyptus leaves…) on desk in my office. Windows in the background look towards the Superstition Mountains.

A large rectangular sheet cake depicting a sunset view (yellow-orange skies) on a beach — ocean and waves on the right, sand & a plan tree & orange flowers on left.

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Meenakshi Wadhwa @minwadhwa.bsky.social · Aug 28

Yesterday I had the opportunity to thank my long-time AZ friends and colleagues @seseasu.bsky.social for the many wonderful years of camaraderie, collaborations, and friendship I’ve enjoyed here. Definitely one of my best career and life decisions to come here 19+ years ago!

Me cutting a beautiful cake decorated with an ocean and sunset, with a party in the backdrop.

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Reposted by Meenakshi Wadhwa

Daniel Pomarède @pomarede.bsky.social · Aug 23

SPHEREx Discovers Extended Carbon Dioxide Coma in Interstellar Object 3I-ATLAS

spherex.caltech.edu/news/3i-atla... #SPHEREx #3IATLAS 🧪🔭

SPHEREx discovered a bright CO2 coma (the extended gaseous atmosphere of a comet) surrounding 3I/ATLAS. It extends out to at least 348,000 km. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.

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Meenakshi Wadhwa @minwadhwa.bsky.social · Aug 23

Surprised and delighted to come across this earlier this week… art transforms the mundane into magic and proves that delight can often hide in plain sight. #FallenStar

Three views of a work of art called “Fallen Star” on the campus of UCSD by artist Do Ho Suh: a cottage perched on top of a building, with over half its base hanging off the building.

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Meenakshi Wadhwa @minwadhwa.bsky.social · Aug 17

www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2025/08/04/s...

Scripps Oceanography’s new director aims to build collaborative studies toward ‘understanding and protecting our planet’

Planetary scientist Meenakshi Wadhwa is due to return to her postdoctoral roots at UCSD in October after six years as director of the School of Earth and Space Exploration at Arizona State

www.sandiegouniontribune.com

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Meenakshi Wadhwa @minwadhwa.bsky.social · Aug 15

Soaking in another AZ sunset.

Two views of the Sun setting over Tempe Town Lake - brilliant orange colors and some clouds.

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Reposted by Meenakshi Wadhwa

Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · Aug 5

Every reputable expert I know considers mRNA vaccine technology to be one of the most revolutionary advances in medicine in our lifetimes. Its inventors won the Nobel Prize in 2023. Shutting it down now is pointless self-harm to humanity.

Eric Michael Garcia @ericmgarcia.bsky.social · Aug 5

Release from HHS: HHS will wind down its development of the mRNA vaccine development activities under the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA).

HHS Winds Down mRNA Vaccine Development Under BARDA

WASHINGTON, DC—AUGUST 5, 2025—The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today announced the beginning of a coordinated wind-down of its mRNA vaccine development activities under the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), including the cancellation and de-scoping of various contracts and solicitations. The decision follows a comprehensive review of mRNA-related investments initiated during the COVID-19 public health emergency.

“We reviewed the science, listened to the experts, and acted,” said HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. “BARDA is terminating 22 mRNA vaccine development investments because the data show these vaccines fail to protect effectively against upper respiratory infections like COVID and flu. We’re shifting that funding toward safer, broader vaccine platforms that remain effective even as viruses mutate.”

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Meenakshi Wadhwa @minwadhwa.bsky.social · Aug 1

Yesterday was my last day as Director @seseasu.bsky.social. I’m proud of what our school community has achieved over the last 6 yrs, building on a trajectory set in motion 19 yrs ago when SESE was founded. I know SESE will achieve greater heights in the coming years — I will be cheering them on!

Group photo with faculty in SESE at ASU.

Group photo with my research group that I’ve worked with over my 19 years at SESE.

Image of the SESE booth at the AGU conference, showing the school banner.

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Meenakshi Wadhwa @minwadhwa.bsky.social · Jul 24

OK, so La Jolla sunsets are not so bad… and I can almost trick myself into seeing a green flash in the last image!

A series of 4 photos showing the progression of a sunset over the Pacific Ocean, with silhouettes of palm trees in foreground.

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Meenakshi Wadhwa @minwadhwa.bsky.social · Jul 23

One of the many things I will miss about living in Arizona is the sunsets… and this view from our balcony of said sunsets!

Me and my husband with a brilliant sunset behind us.

View of a beautiful sunset (orange clouds in a blue sky) looking out on Tempe Town Lake from the balcony of a building next to the lake.

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Reposted by Meenakshi Wadhwa

Nature @nature.com · Jul 21

More than 280 NASA employees past and present, including at least 4 astronauts, have signed a declaration of opposition to the many drastic changes that the US administration is working to enact

go.nature.com/44UJqbk

‘We dissent’: NASA staff declare opposition to Trump cuts

Declaration of dissent, which warns that science and safety are at risk, joins similar documents from staff at the EPA and the NIH.

go.nature.com

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Meenakshi Wadhwa @minwadhwa.bsky.social · Jul 18

Thanks, Mark! I will certainly miss my friends and colleagues here in AZ. Will also miss the amazing beauty of the desert Southwest.

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Meenakshi Wadhwa @minwadhwa.bsky.social · Jul 18

I’m excited to join you!

Meenakshi Wadhwa @minwadhwa.bsky.social · Jul 18

Dear Friends, sharing some news here about my upcoming transition. While I’m sad to be leaving @seseasu.bsky.social after 19 incredible years, I am excited and honored to have the opportunity to contribute to @scrippsocean.bsky.social in the years to come.

Scripps Institution of Oceanography @scrippsocean.bsky.social · Jul 17

We are thrilled to announce that Meenakshi Wadhwa will serve as the Vice Chancellor for Marine Sciences, Director of Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and Dean of the School of Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at @ucsandiego.bsky.social!

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Meenakshi Wadhwa @minwadhwa.bsky.social · Jul 13

Recharging with nature-therapy (and friends-therapy!). Absorbing the beauty and tranquility of the Pacific Northwest, exploring the waterways east of Vancouver Island with friends - teaming with natural beauty and wild life (bald eagles, whales, sea lions!)!

View from the bow of a boat of blue water and mountains in the distance

Me and my husband sitting at a table on the boat, with blue skies and water in the background

A very talk and old (>900 years) cedar tree in a forest in the Pacific Northwest

View from a harbor at sunset, with some sailboats on the water in foreground and tree-covered hills in the backdrop

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Meenakshi Wadhwa @minwadhwa.bsky.social · Jul 5

Reminded that “America the Beautiful” was inspired by the beauty of the Colorado Rockies. More important than ever to be reminded of all that is precious and beautiful about this country that I have chosen as my own — happy Independence Day weekend!

My husband and I in hiking gear, standing in an alpine meadow, with mountains in the backdrop.

Me, my husband and two other friends on a hiking trail with mountains (Colorado Rockies) in the background.

Partly frozen over Alpine lake (Divide Lake) in the foreground and mountains streaked with snow in the backdrop.

Clear Alpine lake in the foreground with reflection of clouds and mountains.

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Meenakshi Wadhwa @minwadhwa.bsky.social · Jun 22

Fun article in July issue of @arizonahighways (www.arizonahighways.com/article/mart...) by Matt Jaffe. Matt is an incredible writer, who recently also wrote this profile of @uarizona’s Michael Kotutwa Johnson @kotutwa that I found very moving - check it out: www.arizonahighways.com/article/mich...

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Meenakshi Wadhwa @minwadhwa.bsky.social · May 31

Picture perfect day for taking in a ballgame at Wrigley Field (Chicago Cubs vs Cincinnati Reds) with family! And Cubbies won!!

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Meenakshi Wadhwa @minwadhwa.bsky.social · May 23

Celebrated the 50th anniversary of the McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences at Washington University this week. Great to be back in my old stomping grounds with old friends from the 4th floor of Compton Hall!

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