Local News Archive - Sciences and Exploration Directorate

2017 Poster Blowout

01/19/2017

The 2017 Poster Blowout photos are available.

Kirschbaum and Roman Named as Presidential Early Career Award Recipients

01/10/2017

Dalia Kirschbaum and Miguel Roman of the Earth Sciences Division have been named recipients of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers.

Kirschbaum and Roman, along with 100 other researchers, were named by President Barack Obama for this award, the highest honor bestowed by the United States Government on science and engineering professionals in the early stages of their independent research careers.

The awardees are selected for their pursuit of innovative research at the frontiers of science and technology and their commitment to community service as demonstrated through scientific leadership, public education, or community outreach.

Piers Sellers: A Legacy of Science

12/24/2016

Piers Sellers, who passed away on Dec. 23 more than a year after learning he had pancreatic cancer, leaves behind a dynamic legacy at NASA.

As an astronaut he helped build the International Space Station. As a manager he helped lead hundreds of scientists. And as a public figure he was an inspiration to many for his optimistic take on humanity's ability to confront Earth's changing climate.

But his most lasting contributions will be in the field where he began his career: science.

Four GSFC scientists were named AGU fellows

12/19/2016

The American Geophysical Union (AGU) today announced its 2016 Fellows, an honor given to individual AGU members who have made exceptional scientific contributions and gained prominence in their respective fields of Earth and space sciences. Since the AGU Fellows program was established in 1962, and according to the organization’s bylaws, no more than 0.01 percent of the total membership of AGU is recognized annually. This year’s class of Fellows are geographically diverse coming from 18 states and eight countries and includes Goddard scientists Paul Mahaffy, Claire Parkinson, Brent Holben, and Nat Gopalswamy.

Piers Sellers awarded the 2017 General James E. Hill Lifetime Space Achievement Award

12/14/2016

Each year, the Space Foundation reaches out to the space industry worldwide to gather nominations for the General James E. Hill Lifetime Space Achievement Award. Our own Piers Sellers has been selected by unanimous consent of the Foundation's Board of Directors as the recipient of the 2017 Hill Award, the highest honor bestowed by the Space Foundation.

This award recognizes outstanding individuals who have distinguished themselves through lifetime contributions to the welfare or betterment of humankind through the exploration, development and use of space, or the use of space technology, information, themes or resources in academic, cultural, industrial or other pursuits of broad benefit to humanity.

Congressman Yoho visit

12/09/2016

A little light relief during the visit with Congressman Ted Yoho (R-Florida's 3rd district) on Dec. 9th. Yoho's staff and wife also attended.

Two new American Physical Society fellows

12/06/2016

Two Goddard civil servants were made American Physical Society fellows this year. Congratulations to Ann Hornschemeier and Rich Kelley.

Ann Hornschemeier: For outstanding contributions to the understanding of physics and the evolution of X-ray binaries in other galaxies.
Richard L. Kelley: For exceptional contributions to the development of high-resolution cryogenic X-ray spectrometers, and outstanding leadership of Astro-H Soft X-ray Spectrometer team research.

Jim Garvin – Catalyzing the Engineering of Science

11/08/2016

SED Senior Scientist Jim Garvin was featured in a NASA/Goddard Q-and-A feature.

Colleen Hartman and Holly Gilbert win Women In Aerospace awards

10/26/2016

photo of Holly Gilbert and Colleen Hartman with Administrator Bolden

Recently, Colleen Hartman won a Leadership Award and Holly Gilbert won an Aerospace Awareness Award from WIA (Women in Aerospace). The awards were presented on Oct. 13, 2016. See the image gallery of the event.

Dr. Sellers continues to share the amazing Earth science analysis done by NASA

10/21/2016

Left to right: Ban Ki-Moon, John Kerry, Leonardo DiCaprio, Piers Sellers, and Fisher Stevens attend a special screening of "Before the Flood" at United Nations Headquarters in New York City on October 20, 2016.

Nordberg Award Winner Piers Sellers receives award from Colleen Hartman and presents memorial lecture.

08/18/2016

Memorial Lecture Photos

Women In Aerospace Leadership Award Goes to Dr. Colleen Hartman

08/15/2016

Congratulations to Dr. Colleen Hartman for her selection for the Women In Aerospace 2016 Leadership Award. The award is presented for: “Demonstration of exemplary leadership abilities that enable others to succeed in the aerospace field. Leadership of noteworthy contributions to the aerospace field on a single project over several years or during a career. Commitment to professional growth. Service as a role model or mentor that shows dedication to the advancement of women in aerospace.”

Intern poster session Science award winners

08/08/2016

Congratulations to the 2016 Science award winners from the intern poster session: Lucas Tax (660), Austin Kim (662), Evan Frangipane (674), Anna Voelker (674), Michael Greklek-McKeon (674), and Robert Spencer (613). Colleen Hartman, Director of the Sciences & Exploration Directorate, presented the awards on Thursday August 4.

Science Jamboree event photos

08/04/2016

The 2016 Science Jamboree was a great success! A collection of 50 photos from the event are available now.

Goddard Scientists Named Fellows of the American Geophysical Union

07/27/2016

Four Goddard scientists were named 2016 fellows of the American Geophysical Union in recognition of their contributions to Earth and space sciences. Claire Parkinson, a senior scientist in Goddard’s Earth Sciences Division; Nat Gopalswamy in the Solar Physics Laboratory; Brent Holben in the Biospheric Sciences Laboratory; and Paul Mahaffy, director of Goddard’s Solar System Exploration Division, were among the 60 new fellows elected this year. The American Geophysical Union established its Fellows Program in 1962, and only 0.1% of the organization’s membership receives this recognition in any given year. The new fellows will be honored in a December 14 ceremony during the American Geophysical Union’s fall 2016 meeting in San Francisco.

Piers Sellers selected for William Nordberg Memorial Award for Earth Science

07/01/2016

Dr. Piers Sellers has been selected as the recipient for the William Nordberg Memorial Award for Earth Science. The award is presented in memory of Dr. Nordberg’s many pioneering accomplishments in the use of space technology in understanding the Earth system. Each year the award is presented to a Goddard civil service employee who best exhibits those qualities of broad scientific perspective, enthusiastic programmatic and technical leadership on the national and international levels, wide recognition by peers, and substantial research accomplishments in understanding Earth system processes, which exemplified Dr. Nordberg’s own career. Congratulations Piers!

Code 600 Overview by the Director (June 2016)

06/08/2016

Overview of the SED by Colleen Hartman, Code 600 Director. The document outlines: 1) Who we are, 2) what we do, 3) how we do it, and 4) why we do it.

Piers Sellers receives NASA Distinguished Service Medal

06/07/2016

On June 2nd, NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden presented our very own Piers Sellers, Deputy Director of Sciences and Exploration, the NASA Distinguished Service Medal. The Distinguished Service Medal is the highest honor bestowed by the Agency, reserved for those whose “distinguished service, ability, or vision has personally contributed to NASA's advancement of United States’ interests.”

A video of the event is available by clicking on the image below.

Piers Sellers In Greenland

05/13/2016

Piers Sellers' recent trip to Thule, Greenland, is featured in The New Yorker.

Piers Sellers' CNN interview

03/22/2016

Dr. Piers Sellers appeared as a special guest on CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS" for a segment about climate change. You can see the interview at this CNN link.

Poster Blowout photos

02/01/2016

Photos from the January 2016 Poster Blowout are now available. See them all in this gallery.

Paul Mahaffy Named Director of the Solar System Exploration Division

12/11/2015

Paul Mahaffy has been named the new Director of Goddard’s Solar System Exploration Division. Paul served for nearly 10 years as Chief of the Planetary Environments Laboratory, leading this group’s study of planetary atmospheres and surface environments with emphases on the modeling of atmospheres and surface environments, advanced instrument development, the study of terrestrial planetary analogs, and the development of space-qualified instruments. Paul is currently Principal Investigator of the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) investigation on the Curiosity rover and of the Neutral Gas and Ion Mass Spectrometer (NGIMS) on the MAVEN Mars orbiter. He previously participated in a wide range of planetary missions, including those to Jupiter, Saturn, comets, and the moon.

AAAS Names NASA Goddard Scientists 2015 Fellows

12/03/2015

Three scientists in the Sciences and Exploration Directorate have been named Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Lucy McFadden (693), Jose Rodriguez (614) and Compton Tucker (618) are among 347 AAAS members awarded this honor for their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications. Congratulations!

Nikolaos Paschalidis wins IRAD Innovator of the Year award

11/19/2015

Nick Paschalidis has been selected FY15 IRAD Innovator of the Year! Nick has a long history of not only developing innovative technologies, but also flying them on instruments vital to the field of heliophysics, all while serving as an active research scientist and mentor to the next generation of scientists. One example of Nick's energy and insight might suffice: Nick created five multi-purpose science enabling microchips that have provided time-of-flight, energy, position, and other measurements to spacecraft that include New Horizons, MESSENGER, IBEX, June, and MMS, among others. Nick will receive this award during the FY15 IRAD poster session Thursday, December 3rd in the building 8 auditorium.

Mark Clampin Named Director of the Astrophysics Science Division

11/06/2015

Please welcome Mark Clampin into the key leadership position of Director of the Astrophysics Science Division. Mark came to Goddard in 2003 from the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI). Mark has been serving as the James Webb Space Telescope Observatory (JWST) Project Scientist at Goddard since 2003, providing science oversight of the Observatory's design through the initial phases of integration. From 2012 to 2014 he also served as the Chief Technologist of the Cosmic Origins and Physics of the Cosmos Program Offices. During the last year, he participated in the development of the Advanced Large Aperture Space Telescope (ATLAST) concept as a Senior Scientist. Mark assumes this position with a broad range of experience covering the scientific, technical and programmatic breadth of the division’s responsibilities. We are delighted he is accepting this new challenge and we look forward to working with him as he leads the outstanding team here in the Astrophysics Science Division.

Solar System Science Offices

Solar System Science Labs

Heliophysics Science Labs

Astrophysics Science Offices

Astrophysics Science Labs

Earth Sciences Offices

Earth Sciences Labs

Directorate Offices