Rosemary Baize

My work began at NASA’s Langley Research Center in the Cooperative (Co-Op) Education Program. At the time, I was attending Purdue University, studying Aeronautical Engineering, when a gentleman from NASA came to interview students. He was passionate about the work at NASA, a little eccentric (he held a pipe that he never lit), and at his core, he struck me as a good person. So, I applied for the program and hoped that I would get selected. A few months later I found out that I was accepted and began my career with NASA at age 19.

The Co-Op Program brought together students from around the country for rotational internships. On the first day, I can remember meeting approximately 20 other students – each talented in their own right. They were mostly engineers, but we had a few students with backgrounds in graphics arts and other disciplines. I had the opportunity to learn from my fellow students, as well as the NASA mentors. The Co-Op Program offered leadership opportunities to the students. One of the first tasks I was given was to supervise model changes and data collection for the F-16 Variable Stability In-Flight Test Aircraft Project in the 12-Foot Low-Speed Wind Tunnel. It was unreal to me that I was given such a great responsibility at such a young age, but it taught me the importance of relying upon your team and that everyone has something to contribute. I still have photos of myself standing next to that model of the F-16 in an ill fitting navy blue suit.

Upon my graduation, I received a job offer from NASA Langley. Although I had competing job offers from other Aerospace firms that paid more, I was hooked by NASA and the work that I had done during the Co-Op program. I accepted the job – a decision that I have never regretted.

Today, I am working in the Science Directorate at Langley. NASA Langley is often described as the Mother of Aviation, but it has a long-history (>30 years) in conducting pioneering research in Earth Science (including critical data on the ozone hole in the 1980s). The Directorate was founded because of the need to better understand the medium through which the aircraft flew, so it was a natural outcropping from our aerospace research.

My passion for Earth Science stems from my commitment to my children, Brent and Rachel. I believe that understanding the Earth’s climate system is truly an intergenerational problem. For example, the greenhouse gases we emit today, like carbon dioxide (CO2), have average life spans on the order of 100 years. So, today’s generation is emitting CO2 (locking in warming) that will create the climate for future generations — my kids. As a consequence, today’s scientists need to provide the data and observations necessary for future generations to make well–informed decisions. NASA provides the critical airborne and satellite observations that help pull this data together, so I feel blessed to be a part of that effort.