For those who have not met you yet, how would you describe your scientific background?
My perspective on Earth science is strongly shaped by my early work as a botanist and field ecologist, working at the New York Botanical Garden and the Carnegie Institution of Washington, collecting information on plant responses to human activities and climate change. These early experiences strongly shaped my approach to Earth system modelling and satellite design at NASA and in my current work at Spark Climate Solutions, using science-based approaches to develop practical information for solving a range of challenges.
You have worked in Switzerland, Germany, France, and the US, in research, government, and now the nonprofit sector. What have you learned from these different environments?
I have learned that open and transparent collaboration is key to making successful and impactful discoveries in Earth sciences. A common theme across these cultural experiences has been that scientific breakthroughs occur more commonly through open exchange of ideas and through respectful debates.
Looking back, what was a key moment that influenced the direction of your career and your interest in Earth and space science?
There have been many key moments and key people that have influenced the direction of my career and interest in Earth and space science. As an undergraduate student, it was a realisation about connections across disciplines and the value of systems thinking. My undergraduate thesis on carbon isotopes and leaf physiology seemed very narrowly focused when I first started the project, but I gradually realised that to fully understand the processes that happen at the leaf scale, I needed to understand what was also happening at a planetary scale.
At Spark Climate Solutions you work on warming-induced emissions and near-term warming. What questions are you most focused on right now, and how do they connect to your earlier work with satellites?
We are seeing human activities and impacts on the atmosphere, land, ocean and cryosphere continue to accelerate in their intensity and extent. Warming-induced emissions include greenhouse-gas emissions from natural systems and processes, and contribute to amplification in warming. We are working at Spark to better detect and quantify these feedbacks using satellites, ground and aircraft networks to help support accounting and solutions to reduce these emissions.
In SPATIUM 56, you write that we are heading into “uncharted territory” with climate overshoot. What do you hope readers take away from it?
Since I wrote SPATIUM 56, the United Nations Environment Programme published its official Overshoot Report. Unfortunately, it looks like society has missed the opportunity to limit warming below the lower limit of the Paris Agreement of 1.5 degrees Celsius, and the uncharted territory is one where we must return to temperatures below 1.5 degrees Celsius having exceeded this limit. These limits do not mean that we have lost the opportunity to stabilise climate. The positive news is that every tonne of avoided emissions means avoided warming.
Is there a mission, satellite, or instrument that you are especially looking forward to?
The European Space Agency launched the FLuorescence EXplorer (FLEX) mission just a couple of months ago. This mission is very exciting because it will track photosynthesis in ways that we have not been able to do at high spatial resolution. The joint NASA and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) NISAR mission is also very exciting, providing incredible high-spatial resolution radar to help map a whole range of Earth system processes.
As the 2025 Johannes Geiss Fellow, you worked on a multi-dimensional view of the biosphere. What stayed with you from that time, and what drew you to return to ISSI as a Director?
As Johannes Geiss Fellow, I was able to think about the unique value that integrated missions and modelling play in helping us understand our planet. I am looking forward to helping continue this integrated systems-based thinking in my role as Director.
Science today is increasingly asked to inform policy, from the IPCC to national governments. What role can an independent and neutral institute like ISSI play?
The study of Earth science is obviously intertwined with policy and the need for scientific information to make decisions related to food security, water policy, to track natural disasters, and to monitor our climate. ISSI is very important in providing a venue to convene experts to discuss the scientific and technical aspects of Earth system measurements and monitoring, to identify new algorithms and new applications, and to challenge the community to come up with new questions or re-evaluate old paradigms that can contribute to new breakthroughs.
What makes ISSI different from other research environments you have experienced?
ISSI is a unique research environment in terms of its goal to tackle complex scientific challenges by bringing different perspectives together, whether these are interdisciplinary, different data streams, different cultures or career stages. There are very few places that can accommodate convening groups of scientists like this and to do so with a range of flexible formats.
Have you rediscovered a favourite place in Bern or Switzerland?
The peaceful walks along the Aare to collect one’s thoughts make Bern such a special place.
What is a hobby or interest outside science that colleagues might be surprised to learn about?
Nothing terribly surprising: my outside science interests include citizen science efforts that revolve around bird watching!
