Third Pod from the Sun

As the Scientific Visualization lead for NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Mark SubbaRao oversees the translation of NASA science into images and movies. For Mark, science visualization is a key communication tool that allows the public to interact and explore the various scientific discoveries happening at NASA and beyond. He sits down with us and talks about his beginnings as an astronomer, his “Data to Dome” approach to experiential science through his work with planetariums, and the role of visualization and the performance of communication in the future of science comprehension.

This episode was produced by Jason Rodriguez and Shane M Hanlon, and mixed by Collin Warren. Artwork by Karen Romano Young. Interview conducted by Ashely Hamer.

As the Deputy Program Manager for NASA’s Radioisotope Power Systems Program at Glenn Research Center, Concha Reid leads a team overseeing and monitoring devices that heat and give power to NASA space projects, such as the recent Orion spacecraft for Artemis 1. She sits down with us to talk about growing up in the Virgin Islands and how that inspired her to study Electrical Engineering, her non-traditional path of taking time off to raise a family and finding her way back into the science community, and her excitement for the future of NASA’s space missions.

This episode was produced by Jason Rodriguez and Shane M Hanlon, and mixed by Collin Warren. Artwork by Karen Romano Young. Interview conducted by Ashely Hamer.

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, he walks us through the important data being collected via remote sensing, being one of the first hydrologists to work on NASA’s Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) Mission, and how a missed phone call landed him on his path with NASA.

This episode was produced by Jason Rodriguez and Shane M Hanlon, and mixed by Collin Warren. Artwork by Karen Romano Young. Interview conducted by Ashely Hamer.

Dorian Janney is a science communicator for NASA asking the big question: how do we make science accessible? Sparked into Earth Space Science through her son’s curiosity with space, we talk to Dorian on how her journey as an educator and life-long learner led to working on NASA’s Global Precipitation Measurement Mission as a Senior Outreach Specialist, and how citizen scientists from around the world are providing important work for researchers through the GLOBE Observer Project.

This episode was produced by Jason Rodriguez and Shane M Hanlon, and mixed by Collin Warren. Artwork by Karen Romano Young. Interview conducted by Ashely Hamer.

Chris Justice is a geographer and professor at the University of Maryland whose research on land use changes and global agriculture has taken him around the world. His research has had a hand in a variety of NASA programs, including the Moderate Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), Mission to Planet Earth, and the creation of the Global Inventory Modeling and Monitoring group. He talks to us about his journey into science, NASA’s relationship with agricultural research, and how NASA’s using satellite data in its Harvest Mission to tackle global food security.

This episode was produced by Jason Rodriguez and Shane M Hanlon, and mixed by Collin Warren. Artwork by Karen Romano Young. Interview conducted by Ashely Hamer.

What do folks who fight food insecurity with satellites, do outreach about Pluto, and map out the Earth's gravitational fields have in common? How about a common thread between those who study light pollution, create science visualizations, and direct exploration?

They all work for NASA!

Join us for our final series of season one as we talk with NASA scientists who study everything from Earth, to space (duh), and beyond!

This episode was produced by Jason Rodriguez and Shane M Hanlon, and mixed by Collin Warren. Artwork by Karen Romano Young. Interview conducted by Ashely Hamer.

Many might think that we know most or all there is to know about our world. On the surface, that might be somewhat true. But below the surfaced, we mapped less of the oceans than of places outside our world like Mars and our moon. Ved Chirayath is trying to change that, not by going down in submarines, but through...computer games. We chatted with him about how we can use the combined power of engaged non-scientists and games to learn about our own world.

This episode was produced by Shane M Hanlon and mixed by Collin Warren. Artwork by Olivia Ambrogio. Interview conducted by Laura Krantz.

When you think of a combo of science & art, what comes to mind? Drawings? Dance? Music? How about quilting? Laura Guertin, Professor of Earth Science at Penn State Brandywine, was looking for creative and innovative to do just that when she came across the idea of showing the effects of climate change (among other things) via quilts! We chatted with her about quilting, crocheting, and other innovative ways to engage everyone from students to the science-interested public. 

This episode was produced by Shane M Hanlon and mixed by Collin Warren. Artwork by Olivia Ambrogio. Interview conducted by Laura Krantz.

While climate change is a global issue, it affects people on a local, and sometimes personal level. And it disproportionately affects those from traditionally marginalized backgrounds. Luckily, there are people out there like Amaris Alanis Riberior, Center Director of the North Park Village Nature Center at the Chicago Park District, who are working to create an inclusive, intercultural, and interdisciplinary understanding of climate change from a diverse community-based perspective with our colleagues in the Thriving Earth Exchange.

This episode was produced by Shane M Hanlon and mixed by Collin Warren. Artwork by Olivia Ambrogio. Interview conducted by Laura Krantz.

Fresh water is something that many of us take for granted. But for Carmen George and Brianna John, it's not a trivial thing. They're working to bring clean water to the Navajo reservation through Community Outreach and Patient Empowerment. We chatted with them on day two of our annual meeting where the theme was Future of the Planet.

This episode was produced by Shane M Hanlon and mixed by Collin Warren. Artwork by Olivia Ambrogio. Interview conducted by Laura Krantz.