"The Responsibility of Climate Change Data" an interview with Ruth Duerr and Steve Diggs

With great data comes great responsibility. Ruth Duerr, a self-described scientific “generalist,” and Steve Diggs, an ocean data specialist, take on years of efforts by scientists to inform the public while stopping short of being policy advisors. As data improves,...

"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,...

"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...

"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...

"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...

"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...

"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...

“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...

"Particles from the Volcano in the Philippines had made there way all the way to Wisconsin." an interview with Chris Trepte

The realization that a purple sunset in Wisconsin traced back to the 1991 volcanic eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in the Philippines fueled Chip Trepte’s interest in the movement of volcanic aerosols in the upper atmosphere. “It was a stunning revelation...

“You are so far up in space, that the Earth, the cities and the landscape all kinda of blends." an interview with Andi Thomas

A picture may be worth a thousand words, but Andi Brinn Thomas is dealing with thousands of pictures of the world. The Image Data Scientist in the Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit within the Astromaterials Research Exploration and Science Division...

"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...

“When I was young I always knew I wanted to be a meteorologist.” an interview with William Putman

William Putman, research meteorologist with NASA , was always fascinated by the way meteorologists on television could predict what was going to happen. But instead of comparing weather reports with the blowing of the trees outside his house, Putman now...

"AGU is the most important gathering of geoscientists in the world." an interview with Ioan Lascu

Ioan Lascu, research geologist at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, shares stories of his work studying minerals and rock magnetism. What do bacteria affect magnetism? What can we learn from stalagmites and stalactites? Why has there been in a...

"We stand on the shoulders of giants." an interview with Alan Gorchov Negron and Colten Peterson

Alan Gorchov Negron and Colten Petersen, University of Michigan, share their stories of becoming scientists, and their hopes for their continued research and involvement in geosciences. What is the role of an earth scientist? What is the role of climate...

"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...

"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...

If you're complaining, you better come back here and try and help us [with climate change policy]." an interview with Michael MacCracken

Michael MacCracken, chief scientist with the Climate Institute came to Washington, DC supposedly for one year, to help ten different agencies involved in climate research to work better together. He stayed for nine years, becoming the liaison to Vice President...

"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...