"Always remember that we professors are all smart, but what will set you apart is being kind.” an interview with Rafael Loureiro

Rafael Loureiro may confess to being an introvert, but he has no fear of people. He started off talking about AGU’s Voices of Science bootcamp, which he is participating in this year to develop his spokesperson skills. That segued into...

“There are no dumb questions, be confident and know that you are the expert in your field.” an interview with Linette McPartland

Imagine this upbringing: only child, suburbs of Maryland, daughter of a mathematician and a pastry chef. If you guessed that child would achieve a management role with NASA’s famed IceBridge2 mission, congratulations, you truly have exceptional foresight. Linette Boisvert McPartland...

“The question is, is it still alive? Was Mars able to form microbes as well?” An interview with Adrian Brown

Adrian Brown is the deputy scientist on the Mars 2020 Rover mission at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C.. Adrian uses his background in geology to explore Mars via the Mars Rover, living out his childhood fascination with the planets. He...

"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...

"Think about your strengths and how you can utilize those strengths." an interview with Haojia Abby Ren

From her teaching position at National Taiwan University, Haojia Abby Run is studying nitrogen-related pollution by fossil fuels and fertilizers and warning people in Taiwan of its damage to the ocean. A female Asian oceanographer, who grew up in China’s...

"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...

“I have friends that do kinds of jobs that you wouldn't expect scientists to do if you didn't know better.” An interview with Erica Bickford

Erica Bickford’s advice to early career scientists or students is to look outside academia and explore all the potential career options available to scientists. She is particularly aware of the importance of science in daily life and in the policy...

"I quit my job to look for invisible matter" Dusty Schroeder shares his story with Kathy Vega

Geophysicist Dusty Schroeder and University of Colorado engineering student Kathy Vega talk about their first-to-college experiences and their field of radioglaciology and cryospheric science. Dusty shares his story of how one science lecture changed his whole life's trajection. (Recorded 14...

“We give them a little bit of a show. " An Interview With Duane Waliser

Duane Waliser’s path in science meandered from an Oregon apple farm to a UCSD Oceanography institute to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where he now serves as the Chief Scientist for the Earth Science and Technology Directorate. At JPL, Duane helps...

"We may be close to a tipping point…over fifty percent of the Amazon may be lost within decades." an interview with Carlos Nobre

Carlos Nobre is a climate scientist with the Institute of Advanced Science in Brazil. Together with twelve hundred scientists, he organized the largest scientific experiment in the Amazon forest, with eleven research towers analyzing water vapor, carbon dioxide, energy balance,...

“I was drawn to geophysics because, through technology, you can look at the things you’re studying.” An interview with John Booker Grab

John Booker Grab grew up in New Mexico and remembers, at the age of 8, running out the back door into the Santa Fe National Forest to go and collect fossils. He then went on to study at Montana State...

"I love the fact that we're serving the public." An interview with Dana Bolles.

Dana Bolles works for the Science Engagement and Partnerships Division at NASA Headquarters. She was first hired as a Payload Safety Engineer with the Kennedy Space Center and since then, has worked at four NASA centers in mission support roles...

"Whould've thought that a billion miles from earth we'd have biological activity in the bottom of an ocean?" an interview with Tom Krimigis

Tom Krimigis works at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab, and was previously the principal investigator for the Voyager I and Voyager II missions. A student of Van Allen, Tom built detectors to search for Van Allen belts on...

"A lot of teachers that I had as a child they inspired me and I was like man, I really like what they do." An interview with Brian Campbell

Meet Brian Campbell, a NASA Senior Earth Science Specialist who works with satellite missions like ICESat-2, SMAP, GPM and with the NASA GLOBE Program, including the NASA GLOBE Observer Citizen Science App. He is passionate about making the plethora of...

“I get excited about all of the projects that I work on because I see so much opportunity and potential.” An Interview with Allison Leidner

Allison Leidner is a program manager for Energy and Infrastructure applications at NASA’s Earth Science Division where she helps inform and connect decision-makers with the science behind renewable energy and climate resilient infrastructure. A conservation biologist by training, Allison recently...

"[It is] not just working on something for yourself but that this all fits into a bigger picture." an interview with Daniel Verscharen

Space Plasma physicist, Daniel Verscharen of the Mullard Space Science Laboratory - part of University College London based in the Surrey countryside - is drawn to fast things- fast moving electrons in space plasma and a fast timeline to propose...

"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...

"We not only found the results, but we also found the solution." an interview with Tong Zhu

Tong Zhu atmospheric chemist and university professor shares his experiences studying air pollution and its impacts on human health. Reflecting on how past discoveries influence solutions and how those solutions impact government policy. He shares stories about his work for...

"AGU is interdisciplinary, [it] helps breaks down the disciplinary stovepipe we often get into." an interview with Jim Irons

Jim Irons grew up in the 1960s and 1970s in Cleveland when environmental conservation was becoming more important for society, but it wasn’t until the Cuyahoga River in his hometown of Cleveland caught on fire in 1969 that his desire...

The Interdisciplinary Scientist: Juan Declet-Barreto, 2018 June 7

In this interview, part of the AGU Narratives project and AGU Paths Through Science, Juan Declet-Barreto discusses his work with the Union of Concerned Scientists, his involvement with the Thriving Earth Exchange (TEX), and the forces that shaped his path...

"Science is the engine that drives civilization." an interview with James Butler

James Butler has studied atmospheric chemistry, ozone depletion for over thirty years. Now, as the Director of NOAA’s global monitoring, he helps direct research into the hole in the ozone layer and climate change. He knows firsthand that we have...

"The most important tool for an aspiring snow scientist is being able to use a shovel." Jeff Dozier talks with Ph.D. student, Mikey Johnson

Distinguished Professor of Environmental Science & Management at UC Santa Barbara speaks with Ph.D. candidate in the Hydrogeology program at the University of Nevada, Reno.

“We’re looking forward to the evolution of missions to the outer solar system.” an interview with Glenn Orton

Glenn Orton is so deep in Jupiter mission information that he gets envious when he’s not involved in a space project studying the gas giant. The senior research scientist at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory studies the composition and structure...

"When we met, it was a Reese's Peanut Butter moment: we had the peanut butter & he had the chocolate." an interview with David Young

David Young, Director of Science at NASA Langley Research Center, discusses his life's work studying the earth's climate. After an early interest in astrophysics, he focused in on earth science due to his desire to do research to help humans....