Linkedin: Susan Howard
ERS profile: Susan Howard
ERS profile: Daria Halkides
Website: Earth and Space Research
Slides
What do you think of when you hear the word 'Oceanography' was the first question asked in this session - and the answer was exciting as it involves research in physics that can answer questions on climate interactions with oceans, changes and interactions between the atmosphere and the oceans and biosphere.
To get answers to these questions the researchers need to use a variety of tools including: Ships at sea, instruments in In Situ, Remote Sensing (satellites), Computers, and Theory & Computational Models. Models allows the researchers to predict what they think is going to happen in the future with climate.
To become a research scientist requires quite a bit of education but if you like science and math then its a worthwhile adventure. Both the speakers had taken lots of science in high school. They recommend physics, chemistry, calculus (or pre-). If computer science or programming is an option then that's a good option to take early too. Also they recommend considering High School summer science research programs as it gives you some experience to start to see if research is something you want to do.
Their advice for college is to find a college that really suits your style and sometimes that may mean not selecting the highest ranked college but selecting one that suits your personality and style. Many colleges offer good general (Physics, Math) or specific (oceanography, environmental science) programs.
Becoming a research scientist requires a minimum of a masters degree. Before signing up for a masters program they recommend taking a bit of time to figure out what area you want to specialize in - if you can find the opportunity help in a research lab, or on a research project while doing your undergrad degree might be way to start figuring this out.
If you really like research, then you should consider completing a PhD to have an opportunity to ask 'big questions' that you want to answer. And then you can keep going beyond that with post-doctoral positions too!
There's lots of different places you can work as a researcher: academia, research with agencies like NASA, NOA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association), industry (mining, fishing industry), media, education, and public service.
Susan Howard has a masters degree in Oceanography and is working on research focused on polar oceanography, which considers how the tides and ocean ice mix and interact. She uses lots of modeling to figure out what future patterns will look like. She maps ocean currents, measures temperatures and salinity. She looks at how warm water from from different depths and locations in the tide mixes with cooler water at the surface in the Arctic areas.
Susan spent a period of her career in New Zealand where she worked as a Physical Simulation Developer at Weta Digital Studios (they did all the special effects for the Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, Avatar). She applied her skills in physics by applying her knowledge of the laws of matter (e.g., water, molecules) to special effects - because she has great knowledge in the laws of physics she can apply this knowledge to special effects to make sure they maintain realism, for example she knows how hair molecules would blow in a breeze, or how smoke flumes should rise in wind. She worked on Avatar, Lord of Rings, and other movies from Weta Works!
Daria Halkides has a PhD in Atmospheric and Ocean Dynamics and is researching the interactions of air and sea, referred to as the ocean surface mixed layer processes - she put a great slide in the presentation on how the process works and a cool equation that mathematically represents the process! She is also working on a project alled the Virtual Ice Sheet Lab that has created an online lab environment to allow students from K-university and researchers to experiment with how different changes in climate will effect an ice-sheet in different ways.
ERS profile: Susan Howard
ERS profile: Daria Halkides
Website: Earth and Space Research
Slides
What do you think of when you hear the word 'Oceanography' was the first question asked in this session - and the answer was exciting as it involves research in physics that can answer questions on climate interactions with oceans, changes and interactions between the atmosphere and the oceans and biosphere.
To get answers to these questions the researchers need to use a variety of tools including: Ships at sea, instruments in In Situ, Remote Sensing (satellites), Computers, and Theory & Computational Models. Models allows the researchers to predict what they think is going to happen in the future with climate.
To become a research scientist requires quite a bit of education but if you like science and math then its a worthwhile adventure. Both the speakers had taken lots of science in high school. They recommend physics, chemistry, calculus (or pre-). If computer science or programming is an option then that's a good option to take early too. Also they recommend considering High School summer science research programs as it gives you some experience to start to see if research is something you want to do.
Their advice for college is to find a college that really suits your style and sometimes that may mean not selecting the highest ranked college but selecting one that suits your personality and style. Many colleges offer good general (Physics, Math) or specific (oceanography, environmental science) programs.
Becoming a research scientist requires a minimum of a masters degree. Before signing up for a masters program they recommend taking a bit of time to figure out what area you want to specialize in - if you can find the opportunity help in a research lab, or on a research project while doing your undergrad degree might be way to start figuring this out.
If you really like research, then you should consider completing a PhD to have an opportunity to ask 'big questions' that you want to answer. And then you can keep going beyond that with post-doctoral positions too!
There's lots of different places you can work as a researcher: academia, research with agencies like NASA, NOA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association), industry (mining, fishing industry), media, education, and public service.
Susan Howard has a masters degree in Oceanography and is working on research focused on polar oceanography, which considers how the tides and ocean ice mix and interact. She uses lots of modeling to figure out what future patterns will look like. She maps ocean currents, measures temperatures and salinity. She looks at how warm water from from different depths and locations in the tide mixes with cooler water at the surface in the Arctic areas.
Susan spent a period of her career in New Zealand where she worked as a Physical Simulation Developer at Weta Digital Studios (they did all the special effects for the Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, Avatar). She applied her skills in physics by applying her knowledge of the laws of matter (e.g., water, molecules) to special effects - because she has great knowledge in the laws of physics she can apply this knowledge to special effects to make sure they maintain realism, for example she knows how hair molecules would blow in a breeze, or how smoke flumes should rise in wind. She worked on Avatar, Lord of Rings, and other movies from Weta Works!
Daria Halkides has a PhD in Atmospheric and Ocean Dynamics and is researching the interactions of air and sea, referred to as the ocean surface mixed layer processes - she put a great slide in the presentation on how the process works and a cool equation that mathematically represents the process! She is also working on a project alled the Virtual Ice Sheet Lab that has created an online lab environment to allow students from K-university and researchers to experiment with how different changes in climate will effect an ice-sheet in different ways.