Andrew Barton

2000/01 CEIRP Fellow

Oceanography / Geology

Hometown: Cool, CA

BA, Science of Earth Systems, Cornell University

CEIRP Curriculum Project: El Nino-Southern Oscillation, Microclimatology

2000 - 2001 CEIRP Fellow Statement

As an undergraduate at Cornell, I was poised to go on an NSF funded expedition to Tibet; I was going to be a geophysics student. As fate would have it, the funding for me to go on the trip disappeared at the last moment and I had to find other opportunities. Fortunately I had applied for a NASA Space Grant to do satellite remote sensing work with an oceanographer at Cornell. He took me on and my scientific interest and technical skills flourished. I studied the effect of climate change on variability of ocean primary production. Now, as a graduate student, I continue my research in the same field. I have come a long way as a student, all the way from a disinterested high school freshman to a very serious grad student. During this time, it has become apparent to me, however, that most scientists fail to make their research and science available to the public; this is the great failure of science today. I am working toward making my work and the work of other scientists relevant, interesting, and available to a greater broader. This is why I am part of the CEIRP program.