The world is full of interesting questions. Small questions such as, "How tall is Mt Everest?" and great big questions like, "How will the climate change in 100 years?".
I was drawn to science at an early age because I wanted answers to all of my questions about the world around me and I felt that science provided the best source for these answers. I followed my interests and studied math and science as I went through school, and in college, I focused more in-depth on these subjects by majoring in physics and biology.
I am an atmospheric scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). This means that I research the atmosphere and present my results to other scientists and the public. Specifically, I use computer models to understand Earth's atmosphere and climate.
However, I did not always study Earth's atmosphere.
Studying Saturn's Moon
In graduate school, I studied Titan's atmosphere. Titan is a moon of Saturn and is 10 times farther from the sun than Earth.
Despite their very different locations in the solar system, Titan's atmosphere has many similarities to Earth's atmosphere. For example, they have similar surface pressures and are both composed primarily of nitrogen. Many of the same processes that take place on Earth, such as the greenhouse effect, precipitation, and the formation of sand dunes, can all be found on Titan.
I specifically studied the haze on Titan. Titan's atmosphere is loaded with small particles that block sunlight. These particles reflect light back to space and cool the moon, just like large volcanic eruptions do on Earth. The same physical relationships and equations govern both atmospheres.
When I joined NOAA in 2014, I applied the computer modeling skills and the knowledge of atmospheric science that I learned studying Titan to Earth's atmosphere. At NOAA I've been investigating climate change using computer models.
My Fascination With The World
My scientific interests are still very broad and I like thinking about all kinds of problems involving our natural world, both big and small. I love that I get to answer some of those questions at my job at NOAA.
One of the great things about science is that the ability to critically think about a topic, ask an interesting question, and use various tools to answer it can transfer between topics and disciplines. This means that there is a whole world of interesting questions that I am equipped to investigate in the future.
