"If you work hard and put in maximum effort, you'll be successful and you'll enjoy it." An interview with Walt Petersen

Walt Petersen is chief of the Science Research and Projects Division at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. Basically, he leads a group of folks who research and develop technology to explore and study the universe and also to observe and...

“You want to work with people who have good character.” an Interview with Martha Savage

Eager to get out of the lab, Martha Savage spent the year immediately following her undergraduate graduation at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station where she worked as a cosmic ray observer. In this position, Dr. Savage, who is now a...

“By changing how science is done, we open it up to… more diverse experiences.” An Interview with Chelle Gentemann

Dr. Chelle Gentemann is the Open Science Program scientist in NASA’s Office of the Chief Science Data Officer. In this role, she works to understand the impact, and development assessments, of NASA’s strategy for Open Science. She recently sat down...

"Talk to everybody…about anything that interests you in their field." An interview with Nathan Roth.

Nathan Roth is a Research Associate in the Department of Physics at the Catholic University of America and spends most this time in the Astrochemistry Laboratory at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Nathan studies the formation of the solar...

“Scientists are just humans. If you feel somebody is too famous to reach out to, don’t.” An Interview with Aaron Piña

Aaron Piña is the National Program Lead for Atmospheric Sciences and Fire Weather Research at the United States Forest Service where he runs a research program that helps transition knowledge into the hands of decision makers around the world. Initially...

"Be proactive and seek out opportunities." An interview with Tanya Harrison

Tanya Harrison never thought she was going to be an astronaut. But she was determined to go to space. And she did just that – through satellites, first to Mars, and now looking back at our own third rock from...

“I spent my childhood driving around the most beautiful place in the world.” an Interview with Jim Pizzuto

For Jim Pizzuto, a career in science was never the plan. His father was a landscape painter, and he grew up surrounded by art and the majestic landscape paintings that his father produced. By the time he entered college, he...

"Anything that really lets me feel like I have a tangible impact on my community…is very…meaningful." An interview with Gina Zwicky

Gina Zwicky love lizards. And frogs. And turtles. Basically, all sorts of amphibians and reptiles. The love has turned into a career looking at how lizards fight off parasites and how those parasites evolve to be, well, better parasites. And...

“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...

“As long as you have the foundation, a unique worldview can be really useful in science.” An Interview with Ashley Greeley

Ashley Greeley is a research scientist in the Heliophysics Division at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center where she studies particles trapped in the magnetic field surrounding Earth. She sits down with us to talk about overcoming imposter syndrome, building innovative...

"…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...

”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,...

“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,...

“What it means to be an expert…is more exciting if it’s inclusive.” An interview with Nina Fefferman.

Nina Fefferman is a professor at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville in the departments of Mathematics and Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, where she is also the director of the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis. In her varied...

"How to solve a problem that has never been dealt with before." interview Marcia McNutt and Margaret Leinen

Marcia and Margaret discuss what it was like during their early careers being out to sea on research cruises and the challenges faced being the only women on the ship. The two also discuss their work during the Deep Water...

Steve Ghan: Climate Scientist, Hiker, AGU Fellow

After a career of 30 years studying climate change, Steve Ghan embarks on another journey of steps to "Make Earth Cool Again" as he is recognized as Fellow of the American Geophysical Union during the AGU 2018 Fall Meeting.

“It's okay to take a non-traditional path.” An Interview with Allison Holevoet

Allison Holevoet is a Mangrove Restoration Coordinator with the University of the Virgin Islands for the SEAS Islands Alliance and works with GRROE (Growing, Research, Restoration, Outreach, and Education) US Virgin Islands Mangroves which, on top of post-hurricane restoration projects,...

"There are many ways to be a scientist." An interview with Pacifica Sommers

Pacifica Sommers is an ecologist and explorer. From the deserts of Arizona to the Antarctic tundra, Pacifica has looked at how organisms from tardigrades to pocket mice live in extreme environments. We talked with her about some of the most...

“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!...

"Don't let anything hold you back". An interview with Ashley Lindalia Walker

Ashley Lindalia Walker is the founder for #BlackInAstro, co-founder and media liaison for #BlackInChem, and co-founder of #BlackInPhysics. Oh, and she's getting her Ph.D in astrochemistry. We discussed her work advocating for black scientists and academics, what inspired her career...

"You know what you're capable of,…trust in the interest and passion that got you here." An interview with Emily Williams

Emily Williams has traveled the world in search of birds. As a biologist, she’s worked in Kansas, Argentina, Australia, and Denali, and studied loons, flycatchers, kingbirds, and more. And even with all these experiences and diverse species interactions, she’s now...

“Be informed about the whole process… and be curious.” An Interview with Gael Cascioli

Gael Cascioli is a planetary scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center where he focuses on planetary geodesy — the measuring of the gravity field and shape of a planet — and is working on the upcoming VERITAS mission which,...

“I'm proud my…perseverance of curiosity has gotten me to be [with] people who talk about life in the universe.” Interview w/ Julia DeMarines

Julia DeMarines is a graduate student at the University of California at Berkeley in the Earth and Planetary Science department, an educator at the Mentoring Academy, a National Geographic Explorer, and a science communicator who runs a space comedy event...