“It’s NASA, why would you ever want to leave?” An Interview with Peter Falcon

Peter Falcon is an Earth Science communications specialist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory with an atypical background: behavioral science. As a communications specialist, Peter acts as a liaison between NASA projects – such as the CloudSat program – and students,...

“There’s everything out there and it’s so fun to do all of this stuff.” An Interview with Gabriel Filippelli

Gabriel Filippelli is a professor of earth sciences at Indiana University- Purdue University Indianapolis, and the executive director of the Environmental Resilience Institute. We talked to him about how the first moon landing and the environment he grew up in...

“You are so far up in space, that the Earth, the cities and the landscape all kinda of blends." an interview with Andi Thomas

A picture may be worth a thousand words, but Andi Brinn Thomas is dealing with thousands of pictures of the world. The Image Data Scientist in the Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit within the Astromaterials Research Exploration and Science Division...

”I've always been concerned about preserving natural resources.” An Interview with Matthew Rodell

Being a Hydrologist was never on Matthew Rodell’s radar, let alone working for NASA. But he always trusted the path ahead. Now as their Deputy Director of Earth Sciences for Hydrosphere, Biosphere, and Geophysics (HGB) at Goddard Space Flight Center,...

Community-based Science and Capacity Building with NASA and the Navajo Nation

Dr. Amber McCullum is an Applied Research Scientist for the Bay Area Environmental Research Institute (BAERI) at NASA Ames who is currently co-developing a drought tool with the Navajo Nation Department of Water Resources that includes remote sensing and ground-based...

"With satellite data, you can help people understand how the disaster happen in their backyard." an interview with Dalia Kirschbaum

In research, Dalia Kirschbaum literally seeks landslide victories, though in her case this entails finding disasters. The research scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center uses satellite monitoring to get clear predictions about actual landslides through satellite information. “My work...

"There were are two paths, figure out how things work or figure out to forecast things." an interview with Paul Stackhouse

Paul Stackhouse is a sun chaser, but in his case it means measuring the surface radiation budget. This means figuring out how much sunlight gets to the surface of the planet, and takes a deep understanding of factors like cloud...

"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...

"There's something in science for everyone." An Interview with Judy Pu

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.

“[Better satellite monitoring] will improve our ability to bridge the gaps between the haves & have nots." interview with Ashutosh Limaye

Through his work with SERVIR, Ashutosh Limaye could be described as one of Earth’s watchdogs. The project scientist at the Marshall Space Flight Center’s job is to take NASA satellite data back down to the Earth and help people use...

“Scientists need to continue… educating the public on risk and uncertainty.” An Interview with Gary Jedlovec

Growing up in Chicago, Gary Jedlovec dreamed of running his own weather station and becoming the next great TV weather forecaster. However, that all changed when he discovered meteorological research. Now well into his career as the Chief of the...

Measuring global change from satellites. An interview with Chris Potter.

Dr. Chris Potter is a Research Scientist in Earth Science at the NASA Ames Research Center. In this interview, we discuss his research that is part of the collective project, the rapid response and novel research in earth science, which...

"We should not live in a bubble when we conduct science." A conversation with Florian Schwandner.

From a childhood filled with archeology lessons from his dad, to graduate studies measuring gases from active volcanoes, and then designing early warning systems to detect volcanic activity, Dr. Florian Schwandner's life goal has been to make a difference in...

"Persistence is necessary to have a career in the sciences." An interview with Laura Iraci.

Dr. Laura Iraci is a research scientist in the Earth Sciences Division at NASA Ames, where she leads a group focusing on air and where human pollution goes. In this interview, we discuss her early interest in high school chemistry...

“It’s all about getting the information into the hands of local stakeholders.” an interview with John Bolten

John Bolten doesn’t need to get his hands dirty to learn about crop yields. Using satellite images, the Associate Program Manager of Water Resources for the NASA Applied Sciences Program has worked with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to directly...

"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...

"Communication is our responsibility." an interview with Jay Famiglietti

James Famiglietti, hydrologist and Director of the Global Institute for Water Security, University of Saskatchewan, discusses his work with NASA's Gravity Recovery and Climate Experience (GRACE) and the evolution of technology throughout his career including its impact on water security....

“We went there to study sulfur and we ended up making this big nitrogen discovery.” An Interview with Barry Lefer

As a Program Manager for NASA Headquarters Earth Science Division, Barry Lefer helps fund important global research and field campaigns that are measuring air quality and greenhouse gases. And judging by these studies, Barry thinks the future is looking good!...

"SaSa became the culmination of all of my past and present interests." A conversation with Kennedi White.

Kennedi White is one of 25 students starting in the new Student Airborne Science Activation (SaSa) program at the NASA Ames Research Center. Students at SaSa are undergraduates from minority-serving institutions, competitively selected across the United States. Over the course...

Dual interests as both research scientist and engineer. An interview with Alok Shrestha.

In this interview, Senior Engineer Alok Shrestha discusses his career path as both engineer and scientist, now working for the Airborne Science Facility at NASA Ames. He also discussed how his background helped aid the 2015 earthquake recovery in Nepal,...

"As soon as it [snow] lands, it starts to metamorphosize" an interview with Gail Skofronick – Jackson

Gail Skofronick-Jackson, Program Manager at NASA Headquarters, Science Mission Directorate, knows more about snow than most Tallahassee, Fla. residents. In fact, it may be safe to say that the program manager at NASA Headquarters knows more about snow than most...

From Planetary Detection to Planetary Protection – Ved’s Journey to Becoming a NASA Scientist and Inventor

Dr. Ved Chirayath is both director and lead research scientist for NASA’s Laboratory for Advanced Sensing (LAS) at NASA Ames in Mountain View, California. His research is focused on inventing new instruments and technologies to map the ocean and planetary...