Episode 38 - NOAA Science Outside the Box with Sarah Kapnick

Show Notes

Hosts: Ryan Harris and Guest Host Wayne MacKenzie

Guest: Dr. Sarah Kapnick, NOAA Chief Scientist

Description: When NOAA selected Dr. Sarah Kapnick as the agency's Chief Scientist, in many respects she was an "outside of the box" selection. True, she already had a strong pedigree of science experience, something one would expect for the Chief Scientist. But what made her uniquely qualified and yet still "outside the box" was her diversity of experience across public, academic, and private, including heavy work in the finance sector. In the latest Triple Point™, you'll hear from the current NOAA Chief Scientist about how she is encouraging the agency to think beyond the status quo. Incentivizing innovation through simple measures in performance workplans, encouraging a mantra to follow your curiosity, and using unique consortia to advance research through Industry-University Cooperative Research Centers (IUCRCs) are just a few ways Dr. Kapnick is helping NOAA think outside the box. LISTEN HERE

References:

• Dr. Sarah Kapnick Bio (NOAA)
• NOAA issues its most aggressive hurricane forecast on record (Fox Weather)
• National Weather Service confirms 7 tornadoes in Washington D.C. metro area (WTOP)
• NOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory
• 2023: a historic year of U.S. billion-dollar weather and climate disasters (NOAA)
• Accelerating partnerships through Industry-University Cooperative Research Centers, IUCRCs (NSF)
• NOAA and OSTP workshop on Artificial Intelligence and weather prediction (NOAA)
• ASCE signs agreement with NOAA toward climate-ready infrastructure (ASCE)
• Fulgurites: what happens when lightning strikes sand (The Weather Channel)
• Explore Challenger Deep (ESRI)
• Financial markets value skillful forecasts of seasonal climate (Nature)
• Ep 37 - Talent management outside the box with Kris Saling (Triple Point™)
• Ep 26 - AI in weather and climate (Triple Point™)
• Ep 34 - Salient innovations in seasonal prediction with Matt Stein (Triple Point™)
• Ep 22 - Hunting Hurricanes with Jeremy DeHart and Kyle Larson (Triple Point™)

Crazy weather last week in D.C. and for the tropics coming this summer

[02:31]

Dr. Kapnick's career of following her curiosity

[10:08]

Outside the box mindset and innovative research through IUCRCs

[18:22]

How diverse experience and incentivizing innovation helps cultivate an outside the box workforce

[22:06]

Retaining strong talent in federal agencies like NOAA

[30:17]

Prediction time: the power of seasonal prediction and AI within 10 years

[36:25]

Advice for young professionals: there's no "right" path, so follow your curiosity

[41:53]

Lightning Round

[42:36]