"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,...

"You can save more lives by being a plant scientist" interview with Becca Barnes, Bianca Rodriguez-Cardona, Evelyn Valdez-Ward & Ben Sulman

In this inspiring interview, Becca Barnes, Bianca Rodriguez-Cardona, Evelyn Valdez-Ward, and Ben Sulman, four early-career biogeoscientists come together to share their reflections on what it means to be a scientist today. How can scientific knowledge be spread on social media?...

"When I was young, I always wanted to play pro baseball, soccer, or basketball" an interview Paul Newman

Paul Newman, Chief Scientist for Earth Science at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and the co-chair to the Montreal Protocol, is one of the planet’s top ozone watchdogs – a self-described detective who looks for any chemicals which may deplete...

"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...

"We make discoveries when not expecting results." an interview with Roberta Rudnick

Roberta Rudnick, Professor at University of California Santa Barbara, was captivated by science from a young age, witnessing the Mt. Saint Helens eruption while in college, and traveling the globe to understand plate tectonics, and how and why continents form...

"It's not just about the ocean, it's about the intersection of the ocean with other earth systems." an interview with Paula Bontempi

After being drawn to the oceans at an early age, Paula continues to examine many factors that influence changes in the oceans. As a program manager for NASA, she enjoys the opportunity to work with dedicated researchers and learn how...

"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...

"The sun is a terrifying and beautiful laboratory of which we know only a little [about]." an interview with Sabrina Savage

Sabrina Savage builds instrumentation for solar physics and studies solar flares at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. The technology she helps create delivers the most high-resolution pictures of the sun anyone has ever seen. In a society more dependent upon...

"The whole community came together.” an interview with Richard Stolarski

Richard Stolarski, research professor shares the journey of his involvement with the movement to address ozone depletion. He discusses how a multi-disciplinary team of scientists came together to heal the ozone layer, and how the world came together with the...

"Kathy vs. The Volcano" an interview with Katharine Cashman

Kathy Cashman, professor at the University of Bristol, worked on the 1980 eruption at Mount St. Helen’s in Washington, one of the first monitored volcanic eruptions in the world (“it was a ‘who’s who’ of volcanology and geology”). Thanks to...

"Three Generations of Ice Cap Expertise." an interview with Sinead Farrell, Walter Meier, Ellen Buckley and Jackie Richter- Menge

What starts as a conversation about arctic change is actually an all-encompassing discussion about career growth, patience, and personal growth. Walt Meier, National Snow, and Ice Data center, introduces us to Jackie Richter-Menge, US Arctic Research Commission, who has spent...

"We weigh the ocean and then you can see how much water there is or less water." an interview with Carmen Boening

As a deputy section manager at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab, Carmen Boening is keenly focused on rising with the tide. The trouble is, the water level isn’t going down as the climate warms. Partly through the monitoring of a set...

"It's not data science, it's just science." interview with Dawn Wright and Mark Parsons

Dawn Wright, ESRI and Mark Parsons, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, share with us their journeys into data mapping, and how the field has grown, including at AGU. Before AGU embraced mapping scientists, people were starting to leave AGU. Now, they’re back,...

“It’s been interesting and rewarding to see science taken seriously and have some action being taken.” An interview with Steve Montzka

Steve Montzka has been at NOAA for 28 years, working on atmospheric science, atmosphere chemistry, and trace gases in the atmosphere. He started there as a post-doc, drawn by the work he saw NOAA scientists doing on the hole in...

"Biology is a planetary process. Biogeoscience is earth & space together." an interview with Diane McKnight, Dork Sahagian & Mary Voytek

How did Biogeoscience become a recognized field of study, with its own journal and sections at AGU? What obstacles did its organizers have to overcome in order to make it a viable field and a welcome presence at AGU? In...

"Starting with the Simplest Conversations." an interview with Barbara Romanowicz and Vedran Lekic

For Ved Lekic, the opportunity to interview his mentor, Barbara Romanowicz, was a little daunting, so he brought along some questions. Once the conversation turns and Ved has a chance to answer some questions as well, we meet a very...

"I love to solve puzzles. The more pieces of the puzzle you get, the larger the puzzle becomes. " an interview with Ingrid Hendy

Ingrid Hendy, Professor at the University of Michigan and section president-elect, shares stories about discoveries in her field and the challenges she faced. She reflected on the curious zebra striped sediment that lured her into her field – mud she...

“Volcanoes are where we’re making new earth, every day." an interview with Lori Glaze

Lori Glaze, Acting Director of the Planetary Science Division at NASA Headquarters, works with everything from understanding asteroid trajectories and material make up to the InSight mission which recently landed a rover on Mars. It’s no exaggeration to say Lori...

"The best science is global." an interview with Sonia Esperanca

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...

"Make science discovery part of everyday life for all families." an interview with Kristin Lawrence

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...

"Getting to Know Traditional Lightning and the People Who Love It." an interview with Sonja Behnke

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...

“It’s been interesting and rewarding to see science taken seriously and have some action being taken.” An interview with Steve Montzka

Steve Montzka has been at NOAA for 28 years, working on atmospheric science, atmosphere chemistry, and trace gases in the atmosphere. He started there as a post-doc, drawn by the work he saw NOAA scientists doing on the hole in...

"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...

"As soon as it [snow] lands, it starts to metamorphosize" an interview with Gail Skofronick – Jackson

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...