The Career Issue 2023

The Career Issue 2023

This year we feature 14 professionals who, like the waters of a braided river, have made leaps and pivots to steer their course to success.

Dawn Wright

Diving Deep to Discover the Secrets of the Ocean

The chief scientist at Esri wound her path into and out of academia.

Erin Macdonald

Listen to more on how science and fiction intersect.

Erin Macdonald makes a Vulcan salute (a hand sign of greeting from Star Trek) at a bar while wearing a Star Trek badge.

Putting the Science in Science Fiction

The “Julia Child of science” makes science accessible through pop culture.

Listen to more on how to support women in science.

A brown-haired woman wearing black and a brown western-style hat is visible from the shoulders up at the right of the photo; behind her is an expanse of brown and green, with six dark brown markers in a row.

Fighting Against Colonialism and Sexism in Paleontology

The Brazilian scientist is one of the leading voices in the movement to bring a rare fossil back to Brazil.

Making Data Visual

Nell turns vast columns of data into beautiful and understandable graphics.

Listen to more on how data visualization can communicate the beauty of science.

Collins Gameli Hodoli

Air Quality Is Data Driven

The environmental scientist is making pollution levels public to draw nonscientists into the fight for clean air.

Listen to more on the dangers of air pollution.

Yamina Pressler

A person wearing sunglasses is looking at the camera and leaning on a shovel next to an outcrop of soil. A green landscape is in the background.

Slowing Down, Appreciating Complexity, and Embracing Soil

The soil scientist draws inspiration from the earth beneath her feet.

Jen Walton

Chaser of Storms and Lava

Walton founded Girls Who Chase to promote women in STEM.

Ed Hawkins: Communicating a Changing Climate

The British scientist is the creator of climate stripes, the now-ubiquitous visual representation of climate change.

Hig Higman: Trekking Across the Last Frontier on the Hunt for Geohazards

Higman specializes in human-powered research expeditions in Alaska’s epic landscape.

Kelly Hereid: Modeling Catastrophes for Insurers

A geoscientist helps homeowners and businesses adapt to worsening wildfires, storms, and floods.

Eiko Kitao: Fossil Hunter and Passionate Educator

From uncovering giant ground sloths to helping build a fossil database, Kitao goes above and beyond as a laboratory technician at Santa Barbara City College.

Christopher Kyba: Luck in Light Pollution

A series of serendipitous encounters shaped Kyba’s path from particle physicist to dark sky defender.

Frances Lightsom: Pivoting to Information Management

Frances Lightsom started her career as an oceanographer. Then she found delight in data.

Jose Rolon: Ready for Any Emergency

An emergency manager for New York City Emergency Management, Jose Rolon deals with the controlled chaos that follows a disaster.

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