Grandpa Paul Career

My name is Aaron Escude (age 16) and I interviewed my grandpa, Paul Auer (age 81). We discussed his over 40 year career working in computer programming.

"…people can be successful at science from any sorts of backgrounds." An interview with Erik Klemetti.

As an associate professor of Earth & Environmental Sciences and volcanologist at Denison University, Erik Klemetti works on volcanoes all over the planet, from Chile to New Zealand to the Cascades of Oregon and California. His research focusses on how...

“Be willing to challenge the rules.” An interview with Brent Holben

With over thirty-years of experience in aerosol research as a Project Leader on NASA’s AERONET program, retired NASA scientist Brent Holben knows his way around those finer details. Now three-months into his retirement, Brent walks us through his adventurous world-trotting...

“Science isn’t finished until it’s communicated.” An Interview with Mark SubbaRao

As the Scientific Visualization lead for NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Mark SubbaRao oversees the translation of NASA science into images and movies. For Mark, science visualization is a key communication tool that allows the public to interact and explore...

“Science is the R&D for the future.” An interview with Christa Peters-Lidard

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...

“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!...

“It's very satisfying to be – even a small cog – in a very important machine.” An Interview with Jeffrey Myers

Jeffrey Myers knows his way around aerial photogrammetry. As a former lead manager at the Airborne Sensor Facility at NASA’s Ames Research Center, Jeffrey’s work with data collection and earth mapping has been affiliated with NASA’s U-2 program, MODIS, and...

“There's a long history of NASA involved in agriculture.” An Interview with Chris Justice

Chris Justice is a geographer and professor at the University of Maryland whose research on land use changes and global agriculture has taken him around the world. His research has had a hand in a variety of NASA programs, including...

“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,...

“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...

”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,...

“What I do is I make sure that data is accessible and we say discoverable… which is really important.” An Interview with Michele Thornton

When it comes to data archiving, Michele Thornton has you covered. As a Geospatial Data Professional for ORNL-DAAC, Michele ensures that NASA funded research is accessible not only to researchers out in the field but to a larger user community...

"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,...

"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...

“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...

"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.

"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...

“I would say, do not let anybody tell you that your experiences are not valuable and don’t matter.” Interview with Mónica Feliú-Mójer

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...

"Every day there's a wonderful discovery and I am so thrilled that we're doing these things." An Interview with John Mather

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...

"There's no other job I'd rather have ever." An Interview with Ed Weiler

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...

"You never stop learning, you're forever learning new things, and I love that." An Interview with Sharmila Bhattacharya

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...