"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...

"I grew up in a place where I was the first to go to college – not just in my family, but in the village." An interview with Charles Gatebe.

Dr. Charles Gatebe's research focus is on clouds aerosols, ecosystem structure and function, albedo, and feedbacks to climate. In this interview, we chat about his science journey pursuing science, starting with his interest in studying Kenya’s air pollution, and how...

An oceanographer and chemist working on space missions at NASA. An interview with Tori Hoehler.

Dr. Tori Hoehler is a scientist at NASA Ames, with a background in chemistry and oceanography. He now studies the interaction of microbial communities with their environment, with an emphasis on the habitability of environments beyond Earth and the detectability...

“As a 15-year-old, I was fascinated by stars and galaxies.” An interview with Naseem Rangwala.

Dr. Naseem Rangwala is an astrophysicist and project scientist for the SOFIA mission. SOFIA, or the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, is a modified Boeing 747 airplane carrying a large telescope. SOFIA observes the universe through long infrared wavelengths. As...

“It wasn’t a big leap from there to the ocean.” An interview with Dr. Dan Whitt.

Dr. Dan Whitt studies currents and the circulation of nutrients in ocean ecosystems. Dan describes his Ph.D. research on internal waves ‒ oscillations found where the ocean is stratified by density ‒ and compares this effect to an expertly-poured Arnold...

Examining geomicrobiology in caves and mines, with a side of space exploration and astrobiology. An interview with Penny Boston.

Dr. Penny Boston is a woman of many talents! A notable academic with a background in microbiology and geology, Penny has investigated microbial life in the lab and in the field as a speleologist -- someone who studies cave science....

“Be open to change. Build a team that has all different aspects and is interdisciplinary.” An interview with Ella Sciamma-O'Brien.

Dr. Ella Sciamma-O’Brien is a research scientist in laboratory astrophysics and planetary science. As a member of the Astrophysics and Astrochemistry Laboratory at NASA Ames Research Center, Dr. Sciamma-O’Brien has been working on the Titan Haze Simulation (THS) experiment, developed on the...

"I've always had an interest and a fascination with space." A conversation with Jonathan Hale.

Jonathan Hale is one of 25 students 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 of...

“There were locations that I went to that no human has ever been to before.” An interview with Dr. Mary Beth Wilhelm.

Dr. Mary Beth Wilhelm is a research space scientist at NASA Ames Research Centre. In this interview, Mary Beth talks about lab hopping, visiting five continents in five months, winning the Ames Early Career Researcher Award, and her hopes for...

"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...

"You just go wherever there are interesting patterns." An interview with Dr. Rama Nemani.

Dr. Rama Nemani, Senior Earth Scientist at the NASA Ames Research Center, works on ecological forecasting. In this interview, we discuss how Rama’s career trajectory moved from farming to supercomputing, NASA Earth Exchange (NEX), the difference between simulation modeling and...

"If you really enjoy it [science], all the work will be worth it." An interview with Matthew Johnson.

Dr. Matthew Johnson's research is in atmospheric chemistry, a branch of atmospheric science, which looks at the composition and chemistry of Earth's atmosphere, such as aerosols and trace gas emissions, and how particles may impact human health. Dr. Johnson's research...

"I was one of those kids who always wanted to be a scientist." An interview with Egle Cekanaviciute.

Dr. Egle Cekanaviciute is a Principal Investigator and Research Scientist in the Radiation Biophysics Laboratory at the NASA Ames Research Center. She is also one of the Course Directors for STAR (Spaceflight Technologies, Application and Research), an intensive training course...