AGU TV Interviews: 2025

The 2025 AGU Annual Meeting theme, “How Science Connects Us”, focused on the ways science connects people, communities, and disciplines to shape scientific progress and discoveries.  Collaborations, expected and unexpected, shape the connective power of science and set trajectories that address present and future global challenges, such as climate change.  What we learn from successful collaborations can guide and inspire the next phase of scientific connectivity and innovation.  

AGU members represent a wealth of information about collaborative science.  Some of this knowledge was captured in interviews with three AGU members at the AGU 2025 Annual Meeting.  The interviews, arranged by the AGU College of Fellows Legacy Committee, were conducted by Dr. Rachel Phillips, a professional science communicator working with WebsEdge, the online media and production company that produced and broadcast the interviews on AGUTV during the Meeting.  

The interviewees, Soroosh Sorooshian (Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of California Irvine), Paul Newman (Former Chief Scientist for Earth Sciences, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center) and Li Li (Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Pennsylvania), have extensive experience with collaborative science.  Their interviews provide insights into the importance of collaborations for engaging across disciplines, working towards a shared purpose, and mentoring young scientists.  

Listen and learn from their experiences.  

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Interview 1: Looking Back on a Career Shaped by AGU
What does a lifetime of scientific discovery teach about building a meaningful career? Professor Soroosh Sorooshian reflects on how AGU meetings broadened his perspective, exposed him to new disciplines, and shaped the way he approached research and collaboration. Through examples from his own career, he illustrates why interdisciplinary thinking is essential for tackling complex problems. His message to the next generation is clear: don't just do science—identify humanity's most pressing challenges and use science to help solve them.

Professor Sorooshian received the 2025 Bowie Medal, AGU's highest honor.

Interview 2: Connection, Collaboration, and Shared Purpose
How do great scientific advances happen? Dr. Paul Newman explores the power of collaboration, using the global response to ozone depletion as a compelling example of how science, policy, and international cooperation can work together to address a threat to humanity. He highlights AGU meetings as invaluable opportunities to build the personal connections that spark new ideas and lasting collaborations. Looking ahead, he emphasizes the importance of maintaining the gold standard of science through credible data and trusted scientific evidence.

Interview 3: The Role of Mentorship in Science
Professor Li Li reflects on how working within a large interdisciplinary research team early in her career transformed the way she thinks about science. By exploring the "ecotones" between disciplines, she learned to identify important scientific questions that might otherwise be overlooked. She discusses how mentorship and legacy are built through people and communities, and encourages early-career scientists to discover their own voice. When you understand your strengths and pursue the science that inspires you, meaningful collaborations naturally follow.