I attended the MPOWIR Pattullo Conference last October, which helped teach me about many aspects of a career in academics that I need to know to be successful. It was also a chance to meet Jr. and Sr. Scientists and get a chance to ask questions of Sr. Scientists that normally I wouldn't be able to ask (e.g., how many hours a week do you work? When did you start feeling confident in your work?). Through the NSF-funded MPOWIR organization, I have also joined a mentorship group that meets via phone monthly. Additionally, I applied for the MPOWIR NASA Speaker Series and was selected to visit the NASA Goddard campus in Greenbelt, MD.
I just returned from visiting Goddard on May 28th and 29th. It was a great visit! Sirpa Hakkinen was my host at Goddard and Sarah Clem of the MPOWIR organization set up my trip. I gave a talk in the Cryosphere group that was attended by scientists from several different groups. After my talk, I met with several researchers in the Cryosphere group, and the following day, I visited the Ocean Ecology group. It was a great opportunity to learn about research outside of my current work areas, and to start thinking about how to bring remote sensing into my array of tools.