Lin Chambers

Deputy Director, Science Activation - NASA

Education

East Lansing High School, Michigan

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | Troy, New York

Aerospace Engineering

North Carolina State University

Aeronautical Engineering

Lin Chambers is part of NASA's Science Activation Program (SciAct). SciAct has projects and NASA teams across the U.S. that are helping learners of all ages do science!

What first sparked your interest in science, technology, engineering, and/or math?

Lin_Chambers

My father, a physicist, regularly brought scientific principles into everyday life. While we were still in elementary school, he brought my brother and me along to some of the early seminars on the discovery of quarks. One year, when our area was in a serious drought, he taught us how to siphon water out of the bathtub through the window for use in the garden. Maple tree seeds flying about every fall were an endless source of discussion. He was also a private pilot, so I was at the controls of a small plane before I was 10 years old.

What Science Activation project(s) are you affiliated with?

I serve on the management team to integrate the Science Activation projects into a larger whole. Science Activation began in 2016 to bring NASA science to learners of all ages in a more efficient and effective way. I coordinate across the 50 or so teams to make sure we leverage opportunities to increase our impact, and to reach more learners.

Tell us about your job. What do you do?

I make connections and collect information to learn how we are doing and where we can improve. For example, our Science Activation Reach Map shows where we are reaching learners. Our annual report summarizes the past year’s impacts, and our publication list captures knowledge produced by SciAct teams.

I also work to make connections across other NASA programs, like Citizen Science and the NASA Science Mission Directorate’s Open Source Science Initiative.

What's one piece of advice you would give to someone interested in learning more about science?

Science is all around us. Pick something you are interested in and learn more about it. Maybe find a citizen science project related to that topic and get actively involved.

What is your favorite science image or visualization, and why?

It’s an image showing simulated clouds and aerosols. This shows the dynamic nature of clouds, as well as the interconnectedness of the Earth system. And it's beautiful!

Aerosols on Earth
Windblown dust, sea salts, sulfates, smoke from wildfires, and pollution from factories are all examples of aerosols. This simulation, produced by the Goddard Earth Observing System Model Version 5 (GEOS -5), shows clouds in white, dust in brown shades, sulfates in purple, and organic black carbon in green. - More about this image
NASA

Who inspires you?

Many people inspire me, but mostly, I’m inspired by students I've met who are following their passion to learn, and have an impact on the future.

What are some fun facts about yourself?

I am bilingual. I speak English and French, and I love it when I get the chance to speak French.