It is an exciting time to be a planetary scientist specializing in Mars research. I have had the privilege of experiencing our changing views of Mars since the beginning of space missions to our neighbor. Mariners 6 and 7 flew by the planet shortly after I became interested in astronomy at age 10. I checked the news every day when Mariner 9 began to reveal the geologic diversity of Mars. The Viking missions started their explorations as I was entering college and the Viking 1 lander ceased operations just as I was starting to utilize the orbiter data in my Ph.D. thesis. Over the subsequent years I grieved the lost missions and cheered the successful ones. I feel extremely fortunate to be able to work in such an exciting field and contribute to our expanding knowledge of the planet and its history.

I have taught graduate courses about Mars at the University of Houston Clear Lake, University of Central Florida, and Northern Arizona University. The 1992 University of Arizona Press book Mars is the best compilation of our knowledge through the Viking missions, but has become increasingly deficient as Mars Pathfinder, Mars Global Surveyor, Mars Odyssey, Mars Express, and the Mars Exploration Rovers have revealed new facets of Mars' evolution. A few years ago I developed a course pack for my students which I updated prior to each term when I taught the course.