“Embracing the different kinds of scientists that exist is something that we're still working to do.” An interview with Kiya Riverman

Kiya Riverman ended up studying glaciers because, on a field work trip, she was one of the few who could fit the ice cave in the glacier. She recalls, “you're surrounded by glaciers and then sometimes you're underneath glaciers. And...

"Science is the factor that leads to a better human life." an interview with Ana Jeleapov

Ana Jeleapov studies landscape geography and hydrology at the Institute of Ecology and Geography in Moldova. She and a small team of scientists are trying to decrease flooding in Moldova. “Floods are a natural phenomenon” with sometimes deadly impact on...

"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...

Geological stories run in families, inspiring the next generation. An interview with Alik Ismail-Zadeh, Ramesh Singh, and Ritesh Gautam

With experiences from Azerbaijan, India and the United States, three scientists discuss how they’ve shared their passion for science in society and data transparency from generation to generation. They hope future generations continue to use data to help people withstand...

“Be informed about the whole process… and be curious.” An Interview with Gael Cascioli

Gael Cascioli is a planetary scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center where he focuses on planetary geodesy — the measuring of the gravity field and shape of a planet — and is working on the upcoming VERITAS mission which,...

“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...

"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...

"If you want something bad enough, you can work hard and get it or you can at least try." An Interview with Shobhana Gupta.

Dr. Gupta was unsure of what she wanted to work on after finishing medical school, but she found her calling and is now the Open Innovation and Community Applications manager at NASA headquarters. Listen to Dr. Gupta talk about her...

“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 was a B+ student, but I was a B+ student with a lot of grit." An Interview with Karen St. Germain

How does one go from being a B+ student who got dressed down by her 8th grade softball coach to the Division Director of the Earth Science Division at NASA? While this might sound like the plot of an inspirational...

"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...

"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...

"We look at life in extreme environments and learn about what life can do, how it adapts." An interview with David Smith.

Dr. David Smith is a microbiologist at the NASA Ames Research Center. David led the design, construction, and validation of two NASA Balloon Program payloads carrying biology experiments (E-MIST and MARSBOx) as well as the use of a bio-aerosol collector...

“You are every bit as capable and competent as other people.” An Interview with Wendy Bohon

Dr. Wendy Bohon is an earthquake geologist and the Senior Science Communication Specialist for the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology, or IRIS for short (not the IRS). But how did she end up there if she went to school for...

What’s My Motivation, Said Neither of These Two Ever. An interview with Lucy Jones and Wendy Bohon

Seismologist Lucy Jones gained recognition for doing a TV interview following the 1992 Joshua Tree earthquake while holding her sleeping infant son. Long before that, she became one of the first American scientists to enter China after it’s normalization in...

”I've always been concerned about preserving natural resources.” An Interview with Matthew Rodell

Being a Hydrologist was never on Matthew Rodell’s radar, let alone working for NASA. But he always trusted the path ahead. Now as their Deputy Director of Earth Sciences for Hydrosphere, Biosphere, and Geophysics (HGB) at Goddard Space Flight Center,...

"At an early age, I was exposed to all things NASA." An interview with Christina Lim.

Christina Lim is an Experiment Support Scientist with the Cell Science Project and the Biospecimen Sharing Program at Paragon-Tech, who work with NASA Ames. She is also a passionate science communicator and has worked in public outreach and education. In...

"Science is a universal language, which helps us bridge language and cultural gaps." an interview with Emily Wolin

Emily Wolin is almost singe-handedly trying to upgrade Myanmar’s national seismic network. As a student, Emily saw the Mount Saint Helens eruption. Today, she helps scientists in Myanmar prepare their country for the aftermath of the next hurricanes to come...

“As long as you have the foundation, a unique worldview can be really useful in science.” An Interview with Ashley Greeley

Ashley Greeley is a research scientist in the Heliophysics Division at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center where she studies particles trapped in the magnetic field surrounding Earth. She sits down with us to talk about overcoming imposter syndrome, building innovative...

“It's hard to say what's going to get invented and eventually end up being in everyone's homes.” An interview with Richard Johnson

Richard Johnson is an AGU member who has been coming to Fall Meeting for years. He discusses some of the keynotes he’s attended in recent years, like those by Jerry Brown, Elon Musk, and Dan Rather. A sci-fi enthusiast, Richard...

"I like the human challenge working and researching in these extreme environments." An interview with Alfonso Davila.

How will we search for life beyond Earth? If we do find life, what are the implications? As an Astrobiologist, Dr. Alfonso Davila travels to 'planetary analogue environments' that are remarkably similar to areas on other planets -- Chile's Atacama...

"The sun kind of affects everything here on Earth in one way or another." An interview with Nicholeen Viall.

Nicholeen Viall is a research astrophysicist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, with her research focus being the sun and solar wind. Listen to Dr. Viall talk about her start in space science, her greatest accomplishment, and her hopes for...

“It’s NASA, why would you ever want to leave?” An Interview with Peter Falcon

Peter Falcon is an Earth Science communications specialist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory with an atypical background: behavioral science. As a communications specialist, Peter acts as a liaison between NASA projects – such as the CloudSat program – and students,...

“It'd be a great job to be the person who gets someone excited to go into science in the future.” An interview with Zachary Wolff

Zachary Wolff talks about how his path to studying and creating models as a graduate student at UC Irvine was not straightforward: he first considered medicine and meteorology before working on a CICE radiation study and discovering his interest. While...