“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...

“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 factor that leads to a better human life." an interview with Ana Jeleapov

Ana Jeleapov studies landscape geography and hydrology at the Institute of Ecology and Geography in Moldova. She and a small team of scientists are trying to decrease flooding in Moldova. “Floods are a natural phenomenon” with sometimes deadly impact on...

"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 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...

"Then I took geology as a distribution class. It was the only thing that was really fundamentally new." an interview with Seth Stein

President-elect of AGU natural hazards focus group and Northwestern University seismologist delights in getting away from conventional wisdom and pointing out when there’s Much Ado about Nothing. He reflected on his career trajectory from research on space to the depths...

"Returning and Relearning in Bejing, China." an interview with Qingyun Duan

When Quinyan Duan was a student in China, he found his way into hydropower engineering. He wanted to pursue a graduate degree but couldn’t find the right professor to guide him. He took the difficult step of applying in the...

"A Label by Any Other Name." an interview with Andrew Binley and Lee Slater

A conversation between student and professor, this discussion reveals the subtle dynamics between good friends, even when they outwardly seem to be very similar. Lee Slater met Andrew Binley when the former asked the latter for a job at Lancaster...

"Everyone lives in a watershed. We're all connected." an interview with Karen Prestegaard

Karen Prestegaard is a professor of hydrology at the University of Maryland, and she studies rivers, wetlands, watersheds, water quality, minerals, floods, and rainfall and watershed management. As a graduate student, the California Coastal Commission hired Karen to study Los...

"Kicking and Perturbing Your Way to Discovery." an interview with Doug Jerolmack

The next time you see a young kid skateboarding through the neighborhood, possibly listening to punk rock on their earbuds, remember that one day that kid could be your local science professor. Doug Jerolmack’s sturdy voice and love of experimenting...