"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...

"Working Together to Prepare for the Unknown." an interview with Gari Mayberry

For the last 14 years, Gari Mayberry has put her volcanology background to work as a disaster response coordinator at USAID. Disasters come in many shapes and sizes so that specialty is a start, but often Gari finds herself connecting...

"[Science] lets us imagine things we hadn't thought possible." an interview with Sarah Vines and Robert Allen

Sarah Vines and Robert Allen once drove twenty hours to see a spaceship launch. Now, Sarah and Robert are married, post-doctoral students working in the laboratories of Johns Hopkins University. Sarah researches how magnetic fields form, and what earth’s magnetic...

“If we’re not taking action then we’re part of the problem." an interview with Amber Soja

Amber Soja’s career is on fire. The resident at NASA’s Langley Research Center studies fire regimes and how they are being affected by climate change. “Every fire season is worse,” she says, adding that the changing fire regime is proof...

“I enjoy knowing that a lot of people do care about [the climate] and they care to learn about it.” an interview with Shelby Hurst

Shelby Hurst grew up in northern Michigan where she spent plenty of time poking at and asking questions about the rocks in her grandparents’ backyard, which eventually led her to a PhD in geochemistry. She discusses the importance of women...

"Choosing the Science of Decision-Making" an interview with Roger Pulwarty and Michael Hayes

Why do people feel they way they do about issues? Why do lawmakers and policy leaders seemingly act against their better interests? And how can information be developed in a way that leads not just to greater understanding, but to...

“One of the most rewarding parts of my job has been opportunities to mentor people like you” An interview with Linda Geiser and Peter Nelson

Linda Geiser and Peter Nelson tell their own stories and reflect on the impact they’ve had on each other lives. They’re both currently with the US Forest Service but first met when Linda hired Peter after he finished university to...

"We must never forget about the free-thinking in science." an interview with Chris Ballentine

Chris Ballentine, University of Oxford, discusses his work as "helium hunter," seeking global reserves of Helium, significant as a natural resource-limited in its scope. Chris discusses geopolitics and the need for the market to drive the search for helium which...

"Titan is a natural laboratory in synthesis of organic chemicals." an interview with Connor Nixon

Conor Nixon, a space scientist at NASA--Goddard Space Flight Center, discusses his work studying the outer planets. Watching the Cosmos show growing up interested him in the solar system and he's been studying the outer planets most of his life....

"Be open-minded in the research and in the people, and to opportunities." Interview with France Lagroix

France Lagroix, Research Scientist at Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris and AGU Leader share stories of her passion and the value of paleomagnetism. She talks of the discovery during her Ph'd research where she developed a novel application...

"I can't be an expert in everything." an interview with Denise Hills

Denise Hills, Director in Geological Survey of Alabama and AGU leader shares stories of her collaborative experiences and how it has shaped her career. She discusses the significance of the growth of science and the importance of communicating science to...

"[It is] not just working on something for yourself but that this all fits into a bigger picture." an interview with Daniel Verscharen

Space Plasma physicist, Daniel Verscharen of the Mullard Space Science Laboratory - part of University College London based in the Surrey countryside - is drawn to fast things- fast moving electrons in space plasma and a fast timeline to propose...

"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...

"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...

"Pollution is not a local issue, it's a global issue." an interview with Mei Zheng

Mei Zheng studies and teaches atmospheric science at Peking University. She’s passionate about training the next generation of scientists, and ensuring that everyone has access to clean air. “A teacher’s job is to encourage, inspire, and challenge students to do...

"Using space to help us dream.” an interview with Margaret Kivelson with Fran Bagenal

In begin in 1979, when Margaret Kivelson, UCLA, was part one of three women presenting a talk in which Fran Bagenal, University of Colorado Boulder, was sitting in the audience. They have been space scientists and collaborators for many years...

"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...

"Sharp Observations from a Keen Observer." an interview with Susan Loizer

We won’t say how long Susan Lozier has been shaping young minds at Duke University (she may let it slip), but she talks about amazing changes that have happened during her tenure. She grew up wondering how rivers get polluted,...

"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...

“I sort of took a leap of faith and was lucky enough to also have somebody that wanted to mentor me.” An interview with Rachel Hampton

Rachel Hampton ended up in the geosciences because she couldn’t find the art history class she was looking for. From asking a TA if she could join him on fieldwork to doing her senior thesis on volcanoes without a professor...

“We can watch twenty minutes of the earth ‘breathing,’ in two minutes.” an interview with Jeremy Werdell

Jeremy Werdell, an Oceanographer in the Ocean Ecology Laboratory at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, discusses his lifelong passion for studying the ocean, which started with a school field trip to a marine biology lab. He describes how happening to...

“I have friends that do kinds of jobs that you wouldn't expect scientists to do if you didn't know better.” An interview with Erica Bickford

Erica Bickford’s advice to early career scientists or students is to look outside academia and explore all the potential career options available to scientists. She is particularly aware of the importance of science in daily life and in the policy...

“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...

"We may be close to a tipping point…over fifty percent of the Amazon may be lost within decades." an interview with Carlos Nobre

Carlos Nobre is a climate scientist with the Institute of Advanced Science in Brazil. Together with twelve hundred scientists, he organized the largest scientific experiment in the Amazon forest, with eleven research towers analyzing water vapor, carbon dioxide, energy balance,...

"We not only found the results, but we also found the solution." an interview with Tong Zhu

Tong Zhu atmospheric chemist and university professor shares his experiences studying air pollution and its impacts on human health. Reflecting on how past discoveries influence solutions and how those solutions impact government policy. He shares stories about his work for...