Rate My Professor Adam Showman

Showman's research centered on the dynamics and evolution of planetary atmospheres and interiors, with emphasis on giant planets such as Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune; exoplanets; brown dwarfs; and terrestrial planets including Earth, Mars, and Venus. He pioneered three-dimensional general circulation models of hot Jupiter atmospheres, predicting strong eastward equatorial superrotation driven by day-night stellar heating contrasts. His seminal paper with T. Guillot, "Atmospheric circulation and tides on hot Jupiters: 3D models of the dayside and nightside" (Astronomy & Astrophysics, 2002), established this paradigm, later confirmed by observations. Showman extended these models to tidally locked and fast-rotating exoplanets, brown dwarfs, and zonal jets on gas giants, with predictions verified by NASA's Juno mission on Jupiter's deep winds (Kaspi, Flierl & Showman, Icarus, 2009). He also investigated icy satellite geophysics, including Ganymede's ocean and tectonics, Europa's ice shell convection, and Enceladus' unstable lithosphere. Influential publications include "Atmospheric dynamics of exoplanets" (Heng & Showman, Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences, 2015), "Atmospheric circulation of brown dwarfs and directly imaged giant planets" (Showman & Kaspi, Astrophysical Journal, 2013), and dozens more in leading journals. Showman advised eleven Ph.D. students to completion, mentored postdocs and undergraduates, developed eight planetary science courses including two new graduate offerings, and delivered lectures such as the 2012 LPL Evening Lecture on exoplanet weather. He served as Editor of Icarus from 2014, contributed to NASA science definition teams for Jupiter missions, and held committee roles in the Division for Planetary Sciences. Awards include the University of Arizona Galileo Circle Fellowship (2018) and American Geophysical Union Fellowship (2019). Showman passed away on March 16, 2020.