Christa Peters-Lidard '91
Christa Peters-Lidard '91
Director of Sciences and Exploration Directorate, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Dr. Christa Peters-Lidard is an Earth scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and currently the Deputy Director in the Sciences and Exploration Directorate. Her research interests include land-atmosphere interactions, soil moisture measurement and modeling, and the application of high-performance computing and communications technologies in Earth system modeling, for which her Land Information System team was awarded the 2005 NASA Software of the Year Award.
She was Deputy Director for Hydrosphere, Biosphere, and Geophysics in the Earth Sciences Division from 2015-2021, and she was the Acting GSFC Chief Scientist from 2020-2021. She was a Physical Scientist in the Hydrological Sciences Laboratory from 2001-2015, and Lab Chief from 2005-2012. She is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and was awarded the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) Scientific Commission A Zeldovich Medal in 2004 and the Arthur S. Flemming Award in 2007. She was elected as an AMS Fellow in 2012 and an AGU Fellow in 2018. She has served as Chief Editor for the American Meteorological Society (AMS) Journal of Hydrometeorology and as an elected member of the AMS Council and Executive Committee. Her Ph.D. is from the Water Resources Program in the Department of Civil Engineering and Operations Research at Princeton University, and she holds a B.S. in Geophysics Summa Cum Laude from Virginia Tech.
How Virginia Tech equipped me for the 'real world'...
Interdisciplinary education with strong STEM foundation in computer science and math.
Biggest misconception about my job or industry...
Earth Science is NASA/GSFC's largest science division--studying our home planet is an important part of NASA's portfolio.
The last time I ventured out of my comfort zone...
While I was Acting Chief Scientist for NASA, I was asked to come up with a vision for Earth Sciences, and after months of thinking, researching, discussing, and pitching to HQ, the Earth Information System (eis.mysmce.com) was born!
A person who has inspired me...
Piers Sellers--my former boss and mentor (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piers_Sellers)
My no-fail, go-for-it motivational song...
I Know You Got Soul by Eric B. and Rakim
My hidden talent...
Gluing broken items
Something very few people know about me..
Virginia Tech was the only college application I submitted
Fondest Virginia Tech memory or tradition...
Cheering H-O-K-I-E-S HOKIES at football games.
This excites me the most about the future of my industry...
The explosion of Earth remote sensing from government, commercial, and even non-profit sources is revolutionizing our ability to provide critical Earth information.
A cause I'm most passionate about...
The Famine Early Warning Systems Network (fews.net). I have been the NASA lead for this USAID-funded activity.
The most formative experience I've had...
Working with the Land Information System (lis.gsfc.nasa.gov) team to meet our performance milestones and win NASA Software of the Year in 2005.
Last book I read...
Crying in H-Mart by Michelle Zauner
Favorite way to end the day...
Cup of herbal tea with my cat purring on me.
Top of my bucket list...
Glacier National Park