"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...

"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...

"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...

"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,...

"Reaching the Critical Zone through Community College." an interview with Jill Marshall

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...

"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...

"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...

"Coming Soon to a Superhero Movie Near You." an interview with Lindy Elkins-Tanton and Evgenya Shkolnik

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...

"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...

"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...

"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...

“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 whole is greater than the sum of its parts” an interview with Catherine McCammon

Catherine McCammon, staff scientist at Bayerisches Geoinstitut, University of Bayreuth, Germany and longtime AGU volunteer discusses collaboration and explains how she has found that the “the whole is great than the sum of its parts,” is truly an accurate statement....

"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...

"Be curious, look up, ask someone" Interview with Padma Yanamandra-Fisher

Padma Yanamandra-Fisher, a research scientist at the Space Science Institute, shares stories of her career in planetary science. She recounts how defining the launch of Voyager was and the significance of the growth in the field since. Padma shares her...

"I originally wanted to restore paintings, but that didn't work out." an interview with Bärbel Hönisch

Bärbel Hönisch, Associate Professor of Environmental Sciences at Columbia University also known as Queen of Boron, transported us millions of years beyond the ice cores to the realm when Greenland had no ice. She took hold of a magical instrument...

"Celestial events are always a winner.” an interview with Kristen Erickson

Kristen Erickson, Director of science engagements and partnership, recently helmed NASA’s efforts to involve over 154 million adult Americans with direct participation with the 2017 total eclipse – the largest engagement effort in NASA history. But in her more than...

"Working Together to Prepare for the Unknown." an interview with Gari Mayberry

For the last 14 years, Gari Mayberry has put her volcanology background to work as a disaster response coordinator at USAID. Disasters come in many shapes and sizes so that specialty is a start, but often Gari finds herself connecting...

"I am satisfied by simply being able to help out in whatever way I can." an interview with Claire Parkinson

Dr. Claire Parkinson, senior scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center since 1978, discusses using satellite data to monitor sea ice in the Arctic and Antarctic and serving as project scientist for the NASA satellite Aqua, which makes measurements of...

"Finding New Ways to Build the Paleo Story." an interview with Melanie Perello

There’s a bit of a culture change moving from Ohio to New Hampshire, which Melanie Perello, Ph.D. candidate at Indiana University, did as part of her studies. Would you be surprised that going from either to Tibet to study paleoclimate...

"Be open-minded in the research and in the people, and to opportunities." Interview with France Lagroix

France Lagroix, Research Scientist at Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris and AGU Leader share stories of her passion and the value of paleomagnetism. She talks of the discovery during her Ph'd research where she developed a novel application...

"I can't be an expert in everything." an interview with Denise Hills

Denise Hills, Director in Geological Survey of Alabama and AGU leader shares stories of her collaborative experiences and how it has shaped her career. She discusses the significance of the growth of science and the importance of communicating science to...

"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?...

"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...