Hi, I'm Karen St. Germain, and I am thrilled
to be NASA's next Division Director for Earth
Science. I hoped to greet you all in person
today, but, that day will come soon, and in
the meantime, I thought I'd introduce myself
and tell you a little bit about my background
and why I'm so excited to take on this role.
I got my start in Earth Science up close and
personal flying through hurricane Gilbert
in 1988 as a graduate student at the university
of Massachusetts. I was working on a new technique
to observe very high ocean surface wind speeds
from aircraft altitude. That was a very exciting
start to about a decade and a half of an R
& D career. That was either in collaboration
with NASA or funded by NASA. Largely focused
on observing ocean surface winds, arctic and
antarctic sea ice, as well as glacial ice.
More recently, I've been working on major
systems development, as well as developing
NOAA's future Earth observing architecture,
and also managing portfolios and programs.
I've learned a lot along the way, including
what it takes to really deliver a capability,
as well as what it means to balance a portfolio
of programs to meet a broader set of objectives.
I'm really looking forward to bringing that
learning back to my home turf - Earth Science.
And to working with the leaders at NASA. I'm
especially looking forward to working with
Sandra Cauffman who has been a friend and
a colleague for several years. Sandra has
my deepest thanks and appreciation for all
she's done to lead the Earth Science program
over the last year. This is a crucial time
in Earth science. Of course the Decadal Survey
outlined a very ambitious vision for the Earth
Science enterprise, and I'm optimistic we
can achieve that mission. I'm also compelled
to achieve that mission. I'm compelled because
understanding land, ocean, atmosphere and
cryospheric systems, and how they are coupled
together is going to be critical - I believe
- for the future of humanity. The global economic
forum identified environmental factors as
the greatest risks - both in terms of probability
and impact - to global prosperity and health
in the coming years. That means it's more
important than ever to understand our environment
and NASA Earth Science is the engine room
for research and innovation driving that understanding
forward. And it's serious and important work.
We'll have to work together with NGOs, industry,
and agencies both in the U.S. and around the
world to increase the impact of NASA's R&D
investments in Earth Science. This is a unique
community, and I'm really looking forward
to working with everyone one of you to rise
to these challenges. I am humbled. I am honored.
And I cannot wait to get started. Thank you.
