"Magnetic fields are used in many of the devices we carry around with us." an interview with Laurie Brown

Laurie Brown, Professor Emeritus at the University of Massachusetts, has been a member of AGU for 46 years. She shares her observations on the growth of paleomagnetism at AGU and its importance in helping address climate. She also discusses how...

"I got a little periodic table wallet card. So, I really am a card-carrying chemist." an interview with Jack Kaye

Jack Kaye, associate director for research at NASA's Earth Science Division, discuss his origins as a chemist and earth scientist, and how he was recruited to Goddard to be a chemist among meteorologists. "My boss would advertise me as his...

Casey Doherty & Courtney Milot

Casey spoke with her good friend, Courtney, about living with invisible disabilities. Casey has myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), formerly known as chronic fatigue syndrome, which was triggered by a COVID infection in 2021. In addition to ME and Long COVID, Casey...

"Points that fall off the curve are either a mistake or the Nobel Prize." an interview with Glenn Orton

Glenn Orton, a senior research scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, discusses his career exploring the outer Solar System that started with the Pioneer 10 and 11 missions, and extended forward to Cassini and more recently Juno. Interested in space...

“Embracing the different kinds of scientists that exist is something that we're still working to do.” An interview with Kiya Riverman

Kiya Riverman ended up studying glaciers because, on a field work trip, she was one of the few who could fit the ice cave in the glacier. She recalls, “you're surrounded by glaciers and then sometimes you're underneath glaciers. And...

"Science is the engine that drives civilization." an interview with James Butler

James Butler has studied atmospheric chemistry, ozone depletion for over thirty years. Now, as the Director of NOAA’s global monitoring, he helps direct research into the hole in the ozone layer and climate change. He knows firsthand that we have...

"I ask a question that can connect what I'm doing with research in the past or planned for the future." an interview with Nathan Kurtz

The potential downside of a career in always seeking discoveries is that it may stunt the development of your confidence. Even as someone who walked into NASA, living the dream in his mind, Nathan Kurtz experiences that downside, politely calling...

"I joined an Oceanography club & actually asked the question that ended up [being] my thesis." an interview with Michael Freilich

Michael Freilich, Director of NASA's Earth Science Division, shares about his life studying the oceans and Earth as a system. While still in his high school's oceanography club, he started exploring a question about how waves move that later became...

"My greatest contribution is the students that come through my program." an interview with Emily Schaller

Emily Schaller, project manager at NASA's National Suborbital Research Center at Ames, discusses her Ph.D. work studying the clouds on Titan and her work as a science and education. She recalled how as a young child, she would study illustrations...

"You can't keep redoing your Ph.D. Really, to be successful, I think you have to change." an interview with Steven Pawson

Steven Pawson, Chief of the Global Modeling and Assimilation Office at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, shares his experiences working on atmospheric and Earth systems science, including interactions between the Ozone Layer and climate change, and predicting air quality for...

“There are no dumb questions, be confident and know that you are the expert in your field.” an interview with Linette McPartland

Imagine this upbringing: only child, suburbs of Maryland, daughter of a mathematician and a pastry chef. If you guessed that child would achieve a management role with NASA’s famed IceBridge2 mission, congratulations, you truly have exceptional foresight. Linette Boisvert McPartland...

"If I can be welcomed in this group, doing this work, maybe they can too." an interview with David Crisp

David Crisp, senior research scientist at NASA, recounted his adventures, from going from a physics education major who had a paper on Venus winds published by Carl Sagan to a doctoral student at Princeton to helping fix Hubble. He described...

"It’s Always Sunny in Climate Science." an interview with Phil Mote

Is it a good time to be a climate scientist? Yes, says Phil Mote, Director Oregon Climate Change Research Institute at Oregon State University. Predictions over the past 40 years are coming true and while some look at that with...

"Whould've thought that a billion miles from earth we'd have biological activity in the bottom of an ocean?" an interview with Tom Krimigis

Tom Krimigis works at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab, and was previously the principal investigator for the Voyager I and Voyager II missions. A student of Van Allen, Tom built detectors to search for Van Allen belts on...

“Science is something that you can learn and that you can achieve through hard work.” An interview with Michelle Newcomer

Michelle Newcomer is now a research scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab but her first degree was in French and Sociology. She talks here about the fear that comes with changing careers, taking risks, and pursuing the path that you...

"The moment that put me on this path was an intro to Geology course." an interview with David Lagomasino

Dr. David Lagomasino, assistant research professor at the University of Maryland and researcher at the NASA Goddard Spaceflight Center, discusses his life in science, studying coastlines and the effects of sea level rise, erosion, deforestation, and other factors on complex...

"The 6 Mentors You Meet in Life" an interview with Chuck McClain

By his own count, Chuck McClain has had six mentors in his career. His first may have been a teacher in Kansas City who took him to his first physics demonstration. Since 1978, he’s worked at NASA Goddard Space Flight,...

"Make science discovery part of everyday life for all families." an interview with Kristin Lawrence

Kristin Lawrence is reimagining how children of all ages can learn and discover science. She is the CEO and Founder of The Hopper, a science discovery playground coming soon to Boulder, Colorado. Kristin changed direction from a career in paleomagnetism...

"Bridging the Divide with Operation IceBridge." an interview with John Sonntag

As a mission scientist with NASA's Operation IceBridge, John Sonntag has been keeping an eye on the polar ice caps for the better part of 20 years. The good news is, he is very well-versed in the science and analysis...

"We are on a planet that is changing." an interview Steven Platnick

Cloud scientist Steven Platnick is trying to learn how clouds may magnify—or minimize—the effects of climate change. He first got excited about clouds when his Ph.D. advisor, who "treated us like equals," started asking questions about clouds. "He asked questions...

"Three Generations of Ice Cap Expertise." an interview with Sinead Farrell, Walter Meier, Ellen Buckley and Jackie Richter- Menge

What starts as a conversation about arctic change is actually an all-encompassing discussion about career growth, patience, and personal growth. Walt Meier, National Snow, and Ice Data center, introduces us to Jackie Richter-Menge, US Arctic Research Commission, who has spent...