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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...

Michael Wong is just as comfortable talking about science as he is with working on it. Currently a post doc at the University of Washington in Seattle, he talks about his work and path through science, from being inspired as...

How rare is it for women to be lead investigators on robotic space missions? This conversation featured two of the very first women to hold that distinction. So, of course, they’re close friends. The lead investigator role requires bringing a...

Laura Kong is the director of the International Tsunami Information Center and, given that her organization is based in Hawaii, she directly understands the importance of a tsunami warning system. Tsunamis might be infrequent but can be deadly when they...

Engaging young students outside of the classroom can help further a life-long interest in science. Elizabeth Eubanks is trying to bring these kinds of experiences to as many kids as she can. As a science teacher, she’s heard from students...

Laurie Cantillo, the Deputy Director of Communications and Education at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, talks about her journey to become a science communicator. She developed an interest in science at an early age spending time in the outdoors with her...

Jonathan Bamber has always loved to climb mountains. It’s why, when he wrote an essay about ice crystal formation in clouds as an 18-year-old undergrad, he found his calling studying glaciers and the natural environment. He’s traveled the world as...

Kristin Lawrence is reimagining how children of all ages can learn and discover science. She is the CEO and Founder of The Hopper, a science discovery playground coming soon to Boulder, Colorado. Kristin changed direction from a career in paleomagnetism...

Jill Marshall, Assistant Professor of Geology at the University of Arkansas thought she was ready to go to college, but there she was on the campus of Boston University as a freshman overwhelmed by her surroundings and on shaky financial...

How can scientists capture the public’s imagination with science? In this interview, Gordon Grant, a research hydrologist with the US Forest Service and President-elect of AGU'S Earth and Planetary Surface Processes Section, shares his experience of bringing a river to...

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....

You may know Marcia McNutt as the current president of the National Academy of Sciences, but did you know she’s also someone who got restless enough to give up what many consider the be the perfect job? While teaching at...

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...

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...

Not every scientist can boast about putting an end to Biblical-level plagues. But NASA Senior Earth Scientist Compton Tucker helped to end periodic locust swarms which pop up in dry parts of the world and go onto wreak havoc on...

Sonia Esperanca, Program Director for the National Science Foundation, supports earth-science research in the academic community. She shares her journey from Rio de Janeiro to the United States, Israel, Australia, and elsewhere. Having an understanding of landscapes across the world...

With great data comes great responsibility. Ruth Duerr, a self-described scientific “generalist,” and Steve Diggs, an ocean data specialist, take on years of efforts by scientists to inform the public while stopping short of being policy advisors. As data improves,...

As a radio astronomer at the Jet Propulsion lab at NASA, Joseph Lazio walks us through his work in radio astronomy and career at NASA. He helped design radio telescopes to solve the mystery of why a hidden star was...

“What is the earth saying to us?” Jackie Caplan-Auerbach is a volcano seismologist with the Western Washington University geology department. Jackie studies ice avalanches, which can happen at any time. Most ice landslides do not give warnings, but some do....

“When you find yourself climbing San Bruno Mountain just south of San Francisco with a butterfly net collecting mission blue butterflies to repopulate on Earth Day, it doesn't get better than this.” Stuart Weiss is passionate about conservation ecology. He’s...

Adeena Teres is a high school science teacher in Florida, although she tried a few different careers before following her passion for teaching. As a teacher, there are always opportunities to inspire students either into science careers or towards other...

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...

Steven Clarke, NASA's Deputy Associate Administrator for Exploration, discusses his life in science and engineering. Currently tasked with bridging NASA's efforts on human and robotic missions to coordinate scientific requirements for going to the Moon and Mars, he has seen...

Chris Hain from the Short-term Prediction Research and Transition Center helps turn NASA data into information that non-scientists can use. One of his big projects is monitoring plant stress from space, which can give farmers a 2-4 week early warning...

The only interviewee to describe her chosen field as a “hoot,” Sonja Behnke, Los Alamos National Laboratory, has been actively involved in atmospheric electricity research since 2008. Before that, she was a math instructor as an AmeriCorps volunteer. As a...