Francisco hails from a small farm in the Illinois countryside, where he developed a deep appreciation for nature in his youth. He received a B.S. in Geophysical Sciences from the University of Chicago in 2017 and a M.S. in Geophysics and Space Physics from UCLA in 2021. He is currently finishing his PhD in Planetary Science at UCLA’s Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences. His primary research focus is how the availability of moisture at the surface and in the atmosphere affect the climate and clouds of terrestrial planets. He is passionate about giving science demonstrations to young audiences that make the big ideas easy to understand. Francisco enjoys visiting the beach, working with new recipes in the kitchen, playing tennis and weightlifting, dabbling at the harmonica, and consuming science fiction and fantasy in movies, television, and video games.