Right now I am  writing books for children and families about Earth. There is so much to say! I was a scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for 25 years focusing on NASA’s Space Shuttle Earth–observing missions and climate change in Alaska’s forests. My experience training astronauts to observe and photograph the Earth in support of these missions initiated an interest in teaching students about our planet. In 1995, I created KidSat, a Shuttle-based Earth-imaging camera that used NASA’s communications and the Internet to allow students in their classrooms to operate the camera during a mission. I received my B.S. in chemistry at the U.C. Berkeley in 1976, and my Ph.D. in planetary science at the California Institute to Technology in 1981. I am the author of 11 literary and technical books, 45 magazine and journal articles, and 100 conference papers.

My Favorite Awards:
Silver Snoopy Award for NASA Manned Flight Awareness
FedNet Webbie Award for KidSat
NASA Exceptional Service Medal
Association of Educational Publishers Distinguished Achievement Awards