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Peter Michelson was inspired by the Apollo moon program to study physics; now, he's a professor of physics at Stanford University and works at the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory. We talked to Peter about pivoting into a new field after...

David Shiffman is a shark guy first, marine conservation biologist second. Sharks are in his Twitter handle, he’s writing a book about them, and he was wearing a shark shirt the day we interviewed him. We talked with David about...

Judy Pu is currently a grad student at the University of California, Santa Barbara studying Earth Science. We talked to her about moving forward from failure and criticism, the importance of education, and dealing with the loss of a mentor.

As much as Prosanta Chakrabarty loves his job as an ichthyology professor at LSU, his favorite part of the job is making human connections while doing fieldwork around the world. And whether it's trying every single cocktail in a bar...

Curt Niebur is the Lead Program Scientist for Planetary Flight Programs at NASA Headquarters, which means that he works on all the NASA robotic missions that don’t go to Mars- you know, a very small mom-and-pop operation. We talked to...

Melissa Scruggs is currently working towards earning her PhD in Volcanology at UC Santa Barbara, and there's nothing else in the world she would rather be doing. But she didn't always know this- after dropping out of high school to...

If Sharmila Bhattacharya wasn't Program Scientist for Space Biology at NASA Headquarters, perhaps she would've been a theater actress. And while her contributions on stage would likely be legendary, we're happy to have her at NASA learning about how space...

Matt Mountain thought he wanted to work alone as a scientist, but on his journey to becoming the president of an Association for Universities in Research in Astronomy and the telescope scientist for the James Webb Space Telescope at NASA,...

Noah Petro is a research scientist at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center- which doesn’t seem like much, but it includes being the lab chief of the Planetary Geology, Geophysics and Geochemistry Lab at Goddard and being the project scientist...

Kelly Fast basically works in a sci-fi movie- she works in the Planetary Defense Coordination Office at NASA, which means she finds asteroids before they hit Earth. And while she hasn’t had to deflect any asteroids yet, she’s been involved...

Marcia Rieke has had to take a break from her job as a professor of astronomy at the University of Arizona recently because she is currently the principal investigator of the Near Infrared Camera being launched on the James Webb...

Craig Kundrot had a hard time narrowing down what type of science he wanted to specialize in, but that ended up being a strength when he became the Division Director for Biological and Physical Sciences at NASA. We talked to...

Dante Lauretta, Regents’ Professor of Planetary Science and the principal investigator for NASA’s OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return mission, has been working on bringing back samples from Asteroid Bennu since 2004- and he still has two more years before he might...

When Christa Peters-Lidard cold-called the head of NASA’s hydrology lab as an undergrad, she wasn’t thinking she’d eventually land that very position. Now as the Acting Director for Sciences and Exploration at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Christa oversees several...

Pacifica Sommers is an ecologist and explorer. From the deserts of Arizona to the Antarctic tundra, Pacifica has looked at how organisms from tardigrades to pocket mice live in extreme environments. We talked with her about some of the most...

Ed Weiler only answered to one person when he was the Associate Administrator for Science at NASA Headquarters- the President of the United States. And after decades long career in astronomy, working on everything from the Hubble Telescope to the...

As the Deputy Director of Planetary Science at NASA, Eric Ianson has his hands full overseeing all of NASA’s planetary science missions. We talked to Eric about learning to navigate press conferences, the gratification of launch day, and maintaining focus...

Emily Williams has traveled the world in search of birds. As a biologist, she’s worked in Kansas, Argentina, Australia, and Denali, and studied loons, flycatchers, kingbirds, and more. And even with all these experiences and diverse species interactions, she’s now...

Saleh Ahmed is probably the only researcher who’s working in both Bangladesh and the Intermountain West. And as a professor in Environmental Studies, Global Studies, and Public Policy at Boise State University, his research in climate change is particularly urgent....

Kerissa Battle (42) an ecologist in the Catskills talks with a close family friend Leana Tishim (13) a student on Long Island about her childhood and the experiences and lessons learned. She also shares a few lessons about finding oneself...

Tanya Harrison never thought she was going to be an astronaut. But she was determined to go to space. And she did just that – through satellites, first to Mars, and now looking back at our own third rock from...

Dr. Stephen Rinehart is the Director of Planetary Research Programs at NASA. We talked to him about how his love for destroying things as a kid led him to a career in science, walking away from failure, and working with...

John Mather has an exciting year ahead of him- he's the senior scientist for the James Webb Space Telescope, the planned successor of the Hubble Space Telescope, which is scheduled to be launched this October. We talk to John about...

A big part of Mónica Feliú-Mójer’s life mission is to help use science communication as a tool for equity and inclusion, and she has certainly achieved this working with two non-profits called Ciencia Puerto Rico and iBiology. Mónica has spent...

In this interview Lara talks about her time as a teacher in both public and private schools. She shares her experiences with teaching through her 25 years of teaching as well as advice for upcoming teachers.