Earth Day Submissions

Yashraj Patil, GISN Member: Well, my journey to becoming an Early Career Scientist has had many twists and turns as I have completed my undergrad, i.e. Bachelor of Engineering in Information Technology, but during my engineering course, there was a small spark that I used to sense about having a researcher's trait right when I started looking to study various NASA's Space & Earth Missions and wanted to contribute towards them using my Technological Skills, but then I landed in the GLOBE Program. 

My Engineering background and working as a Software Engineer in an IT company limited some of my time in learning science, but my passion and love for science did not let my work life hamper it, and I began spending late nights exploring and learning new facts, so the schedule was like daytime software engineering job and nighttime science learnings and developing scientific skill sets.

In 2021, I was about to embark on the Himalayan Expedition, the first of its kind in India and the world, and the GLOBE Annual Meeting enabled me to connect with some dynamic individuals from NASA GSFC, namely Brian and Dorian, with whom I discussed my research plans and they mentored me so precisely within a few days, and this was the first time I discovered myself with a new me, which also indicated that I'm supposed to be in research fields rather than software development. And then, in 2022, I was accepted for the "Master of Technology by Research '' Full Time Postgrad Degree Course at Symbiosis International University in Pune with my own research proposal, working on Master's Thesis and subsequently PhD Thesis.

Overall, NASA's GLOBE Program helped me get here and has nearly entirely contributed to revolutionizing my life from a professional standpoint. The folks at GLOBE are so dynamic, they are ready to help at any time, and this is a true illustration of what Science Diplomacy entails! I'm grateful to the GLOBE Program for everything I have now and look forward to pursuing my doctorate in a few years. 
 

Cristian Randieri, GISN Member: Since childhood, I have always been inquisitive about everything around me. I still remember when I used to love disassembling my toys to understand how they worked. My mother would often ask me why I did that, and I would always answer that it would help me learn how to repair and modify them. Slowly but surely, I realized that my curiosity and passion for discovering how things work could lead me to become a scientist. So, I decided to study scientific subjects at school and deepen my knowledge at university. During my studies, I was fortunate to meet many professors and researchers who inspired me and helped me grow as a scientist. I started working on research projects and participating in scientific conferences and congresses. Today, I am a scientist, and my curiosity and passion for discovery have brought me this far. So, if you are also curious and enjoy discovering how things work around you, do not be afraid to pursue your dreams and become what you want!

Sin da quando ero bambino, sono sempre stato molto curioso di tutto ciò che mi circondava. Ricordo ancora quando da bambino amavo smontare i miei giocattoli per capire come funzionavano. Mia madre mi chiedeva spesso perché facevo ciò e io rispondevo sempre che così avrei potuto imparare sia a ripararli che a modificarli. Piano piano, mi sono reso conto che la mia curiosità e la mia passione per scoprire come funzionano le cose potevano portarmi a diventare uno scienziato. Così ho deciso di studiare le materie scientifiche a scuola e di approfondire queste conoscenze all'università. Durante gli studi ho avuto la fortuna di incontrare molti professori e ricercatori che mi hanno ispirato e mi hanno aiutato a crescere come scienziato. Ho iniziato a lavorare su progetti di ricerca e a partecipare a conferenze e congressi scientifici. Oggi sono uno scienziato e posso dire con certezza che la mia curiosità e la passione per la scoperta mi hanno portato fino qui. Quindi, se anche voi siete curiosi e vi piace scoprire come funzionano le cose intorno a voi, non abbiate paura di perseguire i vostri sogni e di diventare ciò che volete!

Allison Liedner, GLOBE Program Manager: I never thought I’d work at NASA! My training is in conservation biology, and after I completed my post-doctoral research, I applied to the AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellowship program. When I showed up on a Monday to interview for the various positions that were available, I was surprised to see the NASA Biodiversity program on my schedule. I was captivated by the range of Earth science satellite missions, research, and applications all aimed at understanding and supporting stewardship of my favorite planet. When I was offered the position I accepted right away, and it’s been a fantastic experience.
 

Nayda Vinogradova Shiffer, NASA Climate Variability and Change Lead: I got lucky! And having a doctorate degree in ocean physics and applied math helped me land a job as a climate scientist funded by NASA, nearly two decades ago. Since then I’ve been in private industry, academia, and even spun up my own research non-profit doing cool science for NASA, before I switched to management and moved to NASA HQ. It was a wild ride for a girl growing up in Ukraine all the way to Washington, now briefing the US Congress on rising oceans on planet Earth. 

Brian Campbell, NASA Educator & GISN Member: We can measure the height of trees multiple ways:

• With a hand-held clinometer instrument. A clinometer allows you to measure the angles and slopes that are needed to calculate the height of a tree. Using some basic trigonometry, we can use simple measurements, using the clinometer, to estimate the height of a tree. 
• With the GLOBE Program’s GLOBE Observer Trees Tool. We have created the Trees Tool to use your cell phone’s or tablet’s internal mechanisms (magnetometer) and the phone's camera to act as a hand-held clinometer. 
• Terrestrial Laser Scanners. Terrestrial laser scanners can usefully measure tree diameter, height and annual height growth for trees. These are expensive and sophisticated instruments used by scientists and researchers while doing field research.
• From aircraft. Science agencies and universities conduct research on tree and vegetation height by using onboard laser altimeter systems, also called LIDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) to fire laser pulses from the aircraft to the top of tree canopies and back to the aircraft. The time it takes to do this will allow scientists to estimate the height of the tree, knowing the height of the aircraft and the elevation of the land surface the tree is growing on.
• From space-based satellite and instruments. Working the same as the aircraft above with LIDAR, just at a higher elevation in space and faster travel speeds, missions like the NASA Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) and the Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) instrument on the International Space Station, are able to measure billions and billions of tree heights, from space, in a short amount of time. 

Sandra Cauffman, NASA Deputy Director, Astrophysics Division: NASA needs all kinds of people, from engineers to artists, but the largest population, and thus your best chance, is engineering. Start looking for a university with an accredited engineering department. Once you have found one that you like, find out what their admission requirements are and start working towards taking AP advanced classes (and get good grades) in high school that can maximize your chances for entry into the selected universities. NASA has internships for high school students (US Citizens) who are 16 and older (https://intern.nasa.gov/) and lots of other organizations do too, such as embassies.  Apply to those internships! If you can get one you will start building your resume and maximize entry opportunities at those universities. 

La NASA necesita todo tipo de personas, desde ingenieros hasta artistas, pero la población más grande y, por lo tanto, tu mejor oportunidad, es la ingeniería. Comienza a buscar una universidad con un departamento de ingeniería acreditado. Una vez que hayas encontrado uno que te guste, averigüe cuáles son sus requisitos de admisión y comienza a trabajar para tomar clases avanzadas de AP (y sacar buenas notas) en la escuela secundaria que pueda maximizar tus posibilidades de ingresar a las universidades seleccionadas. La NASA tiene pasantías para estudiantes (Ciudadanos Americanos) de secundaria mayores de 16 años (https://intern.nasa.gov/) y muchas otras organizaciones también las tienen, como las embajadas. ¡Aplica a esas pasantías! Si puede obtener una, comenzarás a construir tu currículum y maximizarás las oportunidades de ingreso en esas universidades.

Krishna Vadrevu, NASA Remote Sensing Scientist: Surface temperature has a significant impact on the atmosphere in various ways. An increase in surface temperature leads to transfer of heat through air (convection) that cause clouds, precipitation, and thunderstorms. Further, surface temperature affects the amount of radiation absorbed and emitted by the Earth, influencing its energy balance and climate. The surface temperature varies with various land cover types such as urban areas, forests, and deserts. For example, urban areas have higher temperatures due to heat absorption, and forests are cooler due to the release of water vapor from the leaves into the atmosphere (called evapotranspiration). Deserts have high surface temperatures due to the lack of vegetation and moisture. Understanding how different land covers influence surface temperature is essential for managing climate change and developing effective land-use policies.

Marisa Guarillo, Principal Scientist INSPIRE Environmental: The ocean comprises more than 2/3 of our Blue Planet and provides many ecosystems services, from helping regulate the climate through ocean circulation patterns to the photosynthetic activity of phytoplankton that supplies the majority of the world's oxygen. We understand very little about how the ocean ecosystem functions compared to terrestrial systems; often the next best research to conduct is to map and inventory the seafloor and water column habitats and their inhabitants. Seafloor mapping techniques use sound-based sonar systems (acoustic) multibeam echosounders and side-scan sonars) to gather data about the physical properties of the seafloor and mappers pair these data with ground-truth data, such as video imagery, to create basemaps of the seafloor. Understanding the composition of the ocean, seafloor, and their inhabitants provides an important basis for measuring change and relating that change to potential disturbances both natural and anthropogenic. With more and more ocean "uses" planned, such as renewable energy, deep-sea mining, etc., it is important to understand ocean resources and how they may respond to these changes so that we can do our best to conserve and protect our Blue Planet.

Melinda Webster, Principal Research Scientist, University of Washington: Curiosity powers me to explore and discover new things about sea ice and polar climate. The Arctic and Antarctic feel like being on another planet, and, every time I walk on the sea ice, I encounter all sorts of unfamiliar things that get me wondering. Through this wondering, I start to form all sorts of questions: What kind of weather caused the sea ice to be so smashed up this year? Is this normal or not normal? How does highly deformed sea ice affect coastal communities, who regularly travel over the sea ice? Why are there more polar bears active this year than in previous years? When did all of this snow accumulate on the ice? I can’t answer all of these science questions by myself, but through friends and colleagues, we can tackle them and learn a lot about sea ice variability, how the atmosphere and ocean influence its variability, as well as the effects of sea ice variability on the ecosystem, indigenous communities, and climate. I never thought I’d make a career out of being curious, asking questions, and looking for answers to those questions!
 

Helen Amos, NASA/SSAI Applications Specialist: The possibility of new, unknown and really incredible opportunities opening up. In college, I thought I wanted to major in biomedical engineering. While working in a genetics lab, I decided to explore computer programming. I ended up switching majors and eventually went to grad school to do global Earth system modeling, which opened up opportunities like working at NASA!

Denise “Skye” Yost, GIO Assistant Director: Usually what I'm interested in has me asking lots of questions - it sparks my curiosity and I find myself thinking "I want to know more!" Also, it is a feeling, I feel energized and want to spend that energy investigating what I'm curious about. Observing is one of my favorite things to do and I let that guide my interest. For example, when I first learned about coral reefs, they were very interesting because they play many environmentally important roles from providing homes to many species and their young to protecting shorelines where humans make their homes. Following my curiosity, I pursued studying coral reefs for most of my research career. I investigated how corals respond to climate change and pollutants in the ocean, how resilient they are and how dynamic their relationship with their symbionts is! Science has led me down very interesting paths and the people and places around the world are a huge part of my best memories.