Michael J. Radke • About

Hi, I’m Michael! I use he/him pronouns. And my name is my last name is pronounced like [RAD-kee].

A man in dark clothing is standing in front of a large projection screen holding a microphone and pointing at the screen with his entire arm. The screen is showing a graph of absorption coefficients of various concentrations of sulfuric acid. — Presenting my work at the Exoplanets in Our Backyard Workshop in 2022.
(Credit: Xinting Yu)

I received my PhD in Earth and Planetary Sciences from Johns Hopkins University in 2023, and I’m currently a postdoctoral fellow at JHU working with Dr. Sarah Hörst.

A selfie of a man with glasses wearing a labcoat and wireless headphones in a laboratory. — Me in the lab.

My research is focused on understanding the composition and chemistry of the atmosphere of Venus using multiple approaches:

studying the formation of cloud and haze particles in Venus’ atmosphere using laboratory photochemistry experiments ⚗️
measuring the spectral properties of Venus’ clouds in the lab by studying analogue cloud materials ☁️
analyzing archival mass spectrometer data from descent probes 📊

Looking for more information? Check out my CV.

A man with brown hair and glasses is standing in front of scientific equipment, speaking to a group of students in a laboratory. His hands are held in front of him as if he is making very important gestures while speaking. — Explaining to undergraduate students how we study planetary atmospheres in the lab!
(Credit: Will Kirk)

I grew up in Michigan, and while I’m still a midwestern boy at heart, I’ve enjoyed living on the East Coast for the past several years.

When I’m not in the lab, I enjoy gardening (mostly vegetables and native plants), skiing (mostly blues and blacks), photography (mostly travel and nature), and baking (mostly desserts).

A selfie of a man in a puffy jacket and green beanie with mountains and forests in the background. Everything is covered with a dusting of snow and frost. The sunset lighting casts a warm glow over the landscape and is beginning to turn the sky pink and purple. — In front of a snowy New Mexico landscape.