Our People

At NSIDC, we are a diverse and dedicated group of data and research scientists, project managers, software developers, technical experts, and communications specialists — united in our shared dedication to provide trustworthy data, analyses and research about Earth’s frozen regions and how they’re changing. 

Featured researchers and leadership

Filter by:
Andrew Barrett
Profile Position TItle
Senior Associate Scientist
Senior Associate Scientist
Staff Scientist
Specialties:
Sea ice, snow cover dynamics, glacier hydrology, scientific software development, open science
Christopher Bond
Profile Position TItle
IT Project Management
IT Project Management
Data Management (NASA NSIDC DAAC)
Specialties:
Systems engineering, data management, data systems, project management, and strategic planning.
Lisa Booker
Profile Position TItle
User Services Lead
User Services Lead
Data Management (NASA NSIDC DAAC)
Specialties:
Project management, data user support, accessibility and usability of scientific data
Joshua Brown
Profile Position TItle
Postdoctoral Researcher
Postdoctoral Researcher
Postdoctoral Scientist
Specialties:
Joshua is a postdoctoral researcher with the Exchange for Local Observations and Knowledge of the Arctic, focusing on Indigenous data and storytelling. These projects also co-produce knowledges that Indigenous communities employ in documenting and sharing their history, lifeways, and languages, along with information about climate change and ecological changes in their areas.
Ethan Carr
Profile Position TItle
Physical Geographer
Physical Geographer
Specialties:
Climate change, glaciology, natural hazards, GIS, remote sensing, ArcGIS products, ArcPy, Python
John Cassano
Profile Position TItle
NSIDC Lead Scientist, Teaching Faculty
NSIDC Lead Scientist, Teaching Faculty
Leadership, Staff Scientist
Specialties:
Polar weather and climate, atmosphere - ice - ocean - land interaction, weather and climate modeling, atmospheric boundary layer, autonomous observing systems (atmosphere), artificial neural networks (self-organizing maps)
Elizabeth Cassano
Profile Position TItle
Senior Associate Scientist
Senior Associate Scientist
Staff Scientist
Specialties:
Polar weather and climate, synoptic climatology, self-organizing maps, extreme events, Arctic cyclones
Daniel Crumly
Profile Position TItle
Technical Services Manager
Technical Services Manager
Leadership
Specialties:
Archive management, data systems metrics and performance modeling, Newton's method for nonlinear systems and optimization, mathematical models of computing
Kara Csibrik
Profile Position TItle
General Project Manager
General Project Manager
Data Management (NASA NSIDC DAAC)
Specialties:
Publication, archiving and management of data products, project management, data stewardship best practices.
Candida Dewes
Profile Position TItle
Technical Writers Lead
Technical Writers Lead
Data Management (NASA NSIDC DAAC)
Specialties:
Data stewardship, project management, and documentation best practices.
Matthew Druckenmiller
Profile Position TItle
Research Scientist III
Research Scientist III
Staff Scientist
Specialties:
Science policy, coastal sea-ice dynamics, collaborating with Indigenous experts and traditional knowledge holders, community-based monitoring, data management, Arctic observing systems, sea ice and marine mammals, and communicating the societal implications of Arctic change.
Florence Fetterer
Profile Position TItle
Senior Associate Scientist, NOAA@NSIDC Program Manager
Senior Associate Scientist, NOAA@NSIDC Program Manager
Data Management (NOAA@NSIDC), Staff Scientist
Specialties:
Sea ice, applications-oriented remote sensing, data rescue, data product development, climate data records of sea ice
Michael Gallagher
Profile Position TItle
Research Scientist
Research Scientist
CU Research Affiliate with NSIDC
Patrick Graham
Profile Position TItle
Data Operations Supervisor
Data Operations Supervisor
Data Management (NASA NSIDC DAAC)
Specialties:
Data management, data curation, digital preservation, archival science
Kara Hartig
Postdoctoral Scientist
Specialties:
Effects of Arctic clouds on surface conditions
Lauren Herwehe
Profile Position TItle
DAAC Data Product Team Lead
DAAC Data Product Team Lead
Data Management (NASA NSIDC DAAC)
Specialties:
Project management, data management, climate change, remote sensing
Noor jehan Johnson
Profile Position TItle
Research Scientist II
Research Scientist II
Data Management (ELOKA), Staff Scientist
Specialties:
Arctic environmental governance, Indigenous food security and sovereignty, equity in climate change research and policy, community-based monitoring, data management for Indigenous and community-driven research
Lisa Kaser
Profile Position TItle
DAAC Data Product Team Lead
DAAC Data Product Team Lead
Data Management (NASA NSIDC DAAC)
Specialties:
Project management, data management
Siri Khalsa
Profile Position TItle
Senior Research Scientist Emeritus
Senior Research Scientist Emeritus
CU Research Affiliate with NSIDC
Specialties:
Multispectral and hyperspectral remote sensing, geographic information systems, machine learning and natural language processing, data modeling and metadata, data tool development
Alia Khan
Profile Position TItle
Research Affiliate
Research Affiliate
CU Research Affiliate with NSIDC
Specialties:
Light-absorbing particles in the cryosphere, black carbon, snow algae, snow and glacial hydrology, spectral geophysics, surface optical properties, aquatic biogeochemistry
David Kingsmill
Profile Position TItle
Research Scientist III
Research Scientist III
Staff Scientist
Specialties:
Mountain meteorology, cloud and precipitation microphysics, mesoscale meteorology, radar meteorology
Young hyun Koo
Postdoctoral Scientist
Specialties:
Polar region research, including sea ice, icebergs, and ice sheets; Geographic Information Systems (GIS): remote sensing; machine learning and data models
Amanda Leon
Profile Position TItle
Manager, NASA NSIDC Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC)
Manager, NASA NSIDC Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC)
Data Management (NASA NSIDC DAAC), Leadership
Specialties:
Earth science data management and data stewardship, project management, and program management
Shannon Leslie
Profile Position TItle
General Project Manager
General Project Manager
Data Management (NASA NSIDC DAAC)
Specialties:
Data management, project management, data stewardship and preservation best practices, metadata curation
Seamus McAfee
Profile Position TItle
Science Communications Manager
Science Communications Manager
Leadership
Specialties:
Communications strategy, public relations, digital marketing, social media, management/engagement, brand management/messaging, website content management, team leadership, project management
Walter Meier
Profile Position TItle
Senior Research Scientist, DAAC Scientist
Senior Research Scientist, DAAC Scientist
Data Management (NASA NSIDC DAAC), Staff Scientist
Specialties:
Sea ice, passive microwave remote sensing, climate data records of sea ice, Arctic climate change, climate change
Twila Moon
Profile Position TItle
Research Scientist III, Deputy NSIDC Lead Scientist and CEEE Climate Science Engagement Lead
Research Scientist III, Deputy NSIDC Lead Scientist and CEEE Climate Science Engagement Lead
Staff Scientist
Specialties:
Ice dynamics, ice sheet-ocean interaction, ice loss and freshwater flux, ice-ecosystem connections, hydrology of glaciers and ice sheets, glacier-sea ice interaction, observational science, GIS data tool development, research community organization, science communication
Mahsa Moussavi
CU Research Affiliate with NSIDC
Specialties:
Remote sensing, earth ice cover including ice sheets, ice shelves and sea ice.
Erik Ramos
Profile Position TItle
Software Development Manager
Software Development Manager
Leadership
Bruce Raup
Profile Position TItle
Senior Associate Scientist
Senior Associate Scientist
Data Management (NASA NSIDC DAAC), Staff Scientist
Specialties:
Remote sensing of glaciers, software development for geospatial and remote sensing applications, web-based client interfaces, data tool development, algorithm development
Matthew Savoie
Profile Position TItle
Software Developer / Engineer
Software Developer / Engineer
Data Management (NASA NSIDC DAAC)
Specialties:
Software engineering for scientific inquiry, data processing, and data visualization with expertise in cloud data access services. Expert in passive microwave sea ice processing, distribution and visualization, mentorship and supervision.
Kevin Schaefer
Profile Position TItle
Senior Research Scientist Emeritus
Senior Research Scientist Emeritus
Emeritus
Specialties:
Permafrost dynamics, fire impacts on permafrost, economic impacts of thawing permafrost, subsea permafrost and methane hydrates, land surface modeling, carbon cycle modeling, mercury cycle modeling, land-atmosphere interactions, soil thermodynamics, soil hydrology, atmospheric and soil radiative transfer modeling, inversion theory, remote sensing, project management, orbital mechanics, mercury dynamics in plants and soils
Donna Scott
Profile Position TItle
Programs and Projects Lead
Programs and Projects Lead
Data Management (NASA NSIDC DAAC), Leadership
Specialties:
Organizational process development and administration, Earth science data management, project management
Mark Seefeldt
Profile Position TItle
Research Scientist III
Research Scientist III
Staff Scientist
Specialties:
Polar meteorology and climatology, measurement of precipitation, meteorology field work in the polar regions, Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model, self-organizing maps (SOMs), python applications with meteorology and climate data, semi-automated quality control of observations
Mark Serreze
Profile Position TItle
NSIDC Director, Distinguished Professor of Geography
NSIDC Director, Distinguished Professor of Geography
Leadership, Staff Scientist
Specialties:
Arctic climate, climate warming in the Arctic, sea ice variability and trends, water and energy cycles, permafrost, economic and geopolitical aspects of Arctic change
Elizabeth Sheffield
Profile Position TItle
General Project Manager
General Project Manager
Data Management (ELOKA)
Specialties:
Project management and communications
Amy Steiker
Profile Position TItle
IT Project Management
IT Project Management
Data Management (NASA NSIDC DAAC)
Specialties:
Earth data user training, project management, data tools and services
Julienne Stroeve
Profile Position TItle
Senior Research Scientist
Senior Research Scientist
Staff Scientist
Specialties:
Remote sensing of sea ice concentration, ice thickness, snow depth, surface albedo and temperature; sea ice-ocean-atmopshere interactions; short and long-term sea ice forecasting, ocean primary productivity, global climate change
Ann Windnagel
Profile Position TItle
General Project Manager
General Project Manager
Data Management (NOAA@NSIDC)
Specialties:
Data management and curation, project management, and technical documentation expertise.
Stephanie Wong
Profile Position TItle
DAAC Data Product Team Lead
DAAC Data Product Team Lead
Data Management (NASA NSIDC DAAC)
Specialties:
Data management and stewardship, project management.
Chen Zhang
Profile Position TItle
Visiting Postdoctoral Researcher
Visiting Postdoctoral Researcher
Postdoctoral Scientist
Specialties:
Arctic weather and climate, climate warming in the Arctic, atmospheric dynamics, data science, big data analysis