Curriculum Vitae

Patrick M. Shober

ARES Division · NASA Johnson Space Center · Houston, TX · ORCID 0000-0003-4766-2098

Planetary scientist specializing in meteorite-fall detection, fireball dynamics, and the orbital link between meteorites and asteroids. 28 refereed publications (14 first-author), h-index 13, and about €280,000 in competitive funding won as PI. Asteroid (33964) Patrickshober named in 2023.

Education

Ph.D., Curtin University, Perth, Australia
Thesis: “Meteoroid Orbital Analysis: Connecting Meteorites and Asteroids”
Supervisors: Prof. P. A. Bland, Prof. G. Benedix, Dr. E. K. Sansom
B.S. Geological Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH
Senior thesis: Characterization of Cohesion/Adhesion in Asteroidal Regolith Simulants
Intensive Russian Program, University of Pittsburgh
Slavic, Eastern European, and Near Eastern Summer Language Institute

Appointments

NASA Postdoctoral Program Fellow, NASA Johnson Space Center
Automating Doppler weather-radar reduction to detect meteoritic and satellite debris falls (ARES Division).
Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellow, Paris Observatory (LTE), France
Orbital and irradiation histories of meteoritic samples.
Astrodynamics Specialist, InTrack Solutions, Adelaide, Australia
Geosynchronous-satellite modeling, maneuver planning, and detection algorithms for space domain awareness.
Doctoral Candidate, Space Science & Technology Centre, Curtin University
Orbital modeling and statistical analysis of Desert Fireball Network data.
NASA Intern, NASA Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, OH
Adhesion/cohesion measurements of meteoritic materials; SEM, XRD, UV-nIR, IR & Raman characterization.
Laboratory Assistant, Case Western Reserve University
Planetary Interiors Research Group: Fe–Si and Fe–C alloy synthesis and eutectic characterization.

Leadership & projects

Principal Investigator, Next-Generation Meteorite Tracking (NASA NPP)
Machine-learning detection and characterization of meteorite falls in the U.S. NEXRAD network.
Core Team Member, FRIPON (Fireball Recovery & InterPlanetary Observation Network)
Advancing data-reduction techniques and pipeline development.
Principal Investigator, MASSED (Marie Skłodowska-Curie / Île-de-France)
Mapping arrival times of extraterrestrial debris via meteorite irradiation ages and N-body models.
Team Member, Global Fireball Observatory
Scientific utilization of the orbital dataset; observatory installation and upkeep.

Selected awards & honors

NASA Postdoctoral Fellowship, $180,000 (PI)
Asteroid (33964) Patrickshober named by the IAU
Following the 2023 Asteroids, Comets, Meteors conference, for contributions to planetary science.
Paris Région Fellowship, €128,880 (PI)
Domaines d'Intérêt Majeur framework, supporting MASSED at LTE.
Curtin International Postgraduate Research Scholarship, $158,600
Curtin Research Stipend Scholarship, $93,387
Charles S. Bacon Award, Case Western Reserve University
Case Western Reserve University Academic Scholarship, $92,000

Selected invited talks

EPSC–DPS Joint Meeting, Helsinki, Finland
Invited Plenary, Meteoroids Conference, Perth, Australia
87th Meeting of the Meteoritical Society, Perth, Australia
Brown University, Providence, USA
Astronomical Institute of the Romanian Academy, Bucharest, Romania
Western University Meteor Physics Group, London, Canada

Service

Peer reviewer
MNRAS · Astrophysics & Space Science · Planetary & Space Science · Meteoritics & Planetary Science · Astronomy & Astrophysics · The Astronomical Journal · Icarus · NASA ROSES (YORPD, FINESST).
Professional memberships
American Astronomical Society, Division for Planetary Sciences; European Geosciences Union.

Outreach & media

Popular-science features
Authored for American Scientist (“Unrepresentative Meteorites”) and The Conversation; republished by Phys.org, Space.com, EarthSky and others.
The Academic Minute, “The Case of the Missing Meteorites” (2025)
Research covered by The New York Times, New Scientist, USA Today, Popular Mechanics and BBC Science Focus.

Skills

Programming
Python · MATLAB · Java · Bash · R · C++ · LaTeX; with NumPy/SciPy/Astropy, scikit-learn, multiprocessing, Docker, supercomputing and GUI development.
Methods
Orbital N-body modeling · orbit determination · Bayesian statistics · unsupervised machine learning · impact-fragmentation modeling · data visualization.
Languages
English (native) · French (professional) · Russian & Spanish (beginner).

Publications

In preparation in prep

Silber EA et al. (incl. Shober PM) Multimodal analysis of a large daytime bolide near Cleveland, Ohio on March 17, 2026 Meteoritics & Planetary Science

Shober PM, Fries MD, Abell PA MetDetect: an automatic detection software for meteorite signatures in NEXRAD weather radar Meteoritics & Planetary Science

Shober PM A dynamic analysis of 2,200 asteroids on cometary orbits The Astronomical Journal

In review in review

Anderson S, Anghel S, Shober PM et al. Fresh from space: the Ménétréol meteorite, an exceptional case of rapid recovery and pristine analysis Meteoritics & Planetary Science

Devillepoix HAR et al. (incl. Shober PM) Minimoon Still on the Loose Meteoritics & Planetary Science

Refereed publications 28 · 14 first-author

2026

Shober PM Asteroidal activity amongst meteor datasets: confirmed new “rock-comet” stream and search for a tidal disruption signature The Astrophysical Journal, 1000(2), 254 DOI

Lebreton M et al. (incl. Shober PM) FRIPONMeter: a high-resolution radiometer for fireballs WGN, Journal of the IMO (in press)

Deam S, Devillepoix HAR, Nesvorný D, Shober PM, et al. A Near-Earth Object Model Calibrated to Earth Impactors The Astronomical Journal, 171(3), 126 DOI

Courtot A, Shober PM, Vaubaillon J Orbit dissimilarity criteria in meteor showers: a comparative review Planetary & Space Science, 270, 106231 DOIarXiv

Shober PM, Vaubaillon J, Anghel S, Devillepoix HAR, Sansom EK, Vida D, Colas F, Malgoyre A, Deam S Comparing the data-reduction pipelines of FRIPON, DFN, WMPL, and AMOS: a case study of the Geminids Astronomy & Astrophysics, 705, A65 DOI

2025

Shober PM, Devillepoix HAR, Vaubaillon J, Anghel S, Deam SE, Sansom EK, Colas F, Zanda B, Vernazza P, Bland P What falls versus what we recover: quantifying search and recovery bias for orbital meteorites Meteoritics & Planetary Science, 60(10), 2488–2503 DOI

Egal A et al. (incl. Shober PM) Catastrophic disruption of asteroid 2023 CX1 and implications for planetary defence Nature Astronomy, 9, 1624–1637 DOIarXiv

Shober PM Determining the statistical significance of meteorite–asteroid pairs using geocentric parameters Astronomy & Astrophysics, 702, A36 DOIarXiv

Shober PM, Devillepoix HAR, Vaubaillon J, Anghel S, Deam SE, Sansom EK, Colas F, Zanda B, Vernazza P, Bland P Perihelion history and atmospheric survival as primary drivers of the Earth's meteorite record Nature Astronomy, 9, 799–812 DOIarXiv

Shober PM, Courtot A, Vaubaillon J Near-Earth stream decoherence revisited: the limits of orbital similarity Astronomy & Astrophysics, 693, A23 DOIarXiv

2024

Shober PM, Tancredi G, Vaubaillon J, Devillepoix HAR, Deam S, Anghel S, Sansom EK, Colas F, Martino S Comparing the dynamics of Jupiter-family comets and comet-like fireballs Astronomy & Astrophysics, 687, A181 DOIarXiv

Shober PM, Vaubaillon J A generalizable method for estimating meteor shower false positives Astronomy & Astrophysics, 686, A130 DOIarXiv

Shober PM, Caffee MW, Bland PA Cosmic-ray exposure age accumulated in near-Earth space: a carbonaceous chondrite case study Meteoritics & Planetary Science, 59(10), 2695–2717 DOI

Lagain A, Devillepoix HAR, Vernazza P, Robertson D, Granvik M, Pokorný P, Ozerov A, Shober PM, Jorda L, Servis K, Fairweather JH, Quesnel Y, Benedix GK Recalibration of the lunar chronology due to spatial cratering-rate variability Icarus, 411, 115956 DOI

McMullan S et al. (incl. Shober PM) The Winchcombe fireball: that lucky survivor Meteoritics & Planetary Science, 59(5), 927–947 DOIarXiv

2022

King AJ et al. (incl. Shober PM) The Winchcombe meteorite, a unique and pristine witness from the outer solar system Science Advances, 8(46), eabq3925 DOI

Devillepoix HAR, Sansom EK, Shober PM, et al. Trajectory, recovery, and orbital history of the Madura Cave meteorite Meteoritics & Planetary Science, 57(7), 1328–1338 DOIarXiv

Shober PM, Devillepoix HAR, Sansom EK, Towner MC, Cupák M, Anderson SL, Benedix G, Forman L, Bland PA, Howie RM, Hartig BAD, Laubenstein M, Cary F, Langendam A Arpu Kuilpu: an H5 from the outer main belt Meteoritics & Planetary Science, 57(6), 1146–1157 DOIarXiv

Anderson SL, Towner MC, Fairweather J, Bland P, Devillepoix HAR, Sansom EK, Cupák M, Shober PM, Benedix G Successful recovery of an observed meteorite fall using drones and machine learning The Astrophysical Journal Letters, 930(2), L25 DOIarXiv

2021

Devillepoix HAR, Jenniskens P, Bland PA, Sansom EK, Towner MC, Shober PM, Cupák M, Howie RM, Hartig BAD, Anderson S, Jansen-Sturgeon T, Albers J Taurid stream #628: a reservoir of large cometary impactors The Planetary Science Journal, 2(6), 223 DOIarXiv

Anderson SL, Sansom EK, Shober PM, Hartig BAD, Devillepoix HAR, Towner MC The proposed silicate–sulfuric acid process: mineral processing for in situ resource utilization (ISRU) Acta Astronautica, 188, 57–63 DOIarXiv

Shober PM, Sansom EK, Bland PA, Devillepoix HAR, Towner MC, Cupák M, Howie RM, Hartig BAD, Anderson SL The main asteroid belt: the primary source of debris on comet-like orbits The Planetary Science Journal, 2(3), 98 DOIarXiv

2020

Anderson SL, Towner MC, Bland PA, Haikings C, Volante W, Sansom EK, Devillepoix HAR, Shober PM, Hartig BAD, Cupák M, Jansen-Sturgeon T, Howie RM, Benedix G, Deacon G Machine learning for semi-automated meteorite recovery Meteoritics & Planetary Science, 55(11), 2461–2471 DOIarXiv

Shober PM, Jansen-Sturgeon T, Bland PA, Devillepoix HAR, Sansom EK, Towner MC, Cupák M, Howie RM, Hartig BAD Using atmospheric impact data to model meteoroid close encounters Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 498(4), 5240–5250 DOIarXiv

Devillepoix HAR, Cupák M, Bland PA, Sansom EK, Towner MC, Howie RM, Hartig BAD, Jansen-Sturgeon T, Shober PM, et al. A Global Fireball Observatory Planetary and Space Science, 191, 105036 DOIarXiv

Shober PM, Jansen-Sturgeon T, Devillepoix HAR, Towner MC, Sansom EK, Bland PA, Cupák M, Howie RM, Hartig BAD Where did they come from, where did they go? Grazing fireballs The Astronomical Journal, 159(5), 191 DOIarXiv

2019

Shober PM, Jansen-Sturgeon T, Sansom EK, Devillepoix HAR, Bland PA, Towner MC, Cupák M, Howie RM, Hartig BAD Identification of a Minimoon Fireball The Astronomical Journal, 158(5), 183 DOIarXiv

Sansom EK, Gritsevich M, Devillepoix HAR, Jansen-Sturgeon T, Shober PM, Bland PA, Towner MC, Cupák M, Howie RM, Hartig BAD Determining fireball fates using the α–β criterion The Astrophysical Journal, 885(2), 115 DOIarXiv