Promoting Geoscience Research, Education & Success

Karin Gleason

My interests

In her first years at the climate center, Karin focused on quality assurance and training with the Climate Data Modernization Program (CDMP). She has been a member of Climate Monitoring for the last 15 years, working on the operationalization of the Climate Extremes Index and creating the popular Climate at a Glance web tool. Karin supports the creation of the monthly Climate Monitoring Reports and most recently worked on the divisional dataset transition, nClimDiv. She also served as a team member on the NOAA California Drought Services Assessment in 2014-15. Karin currently works with NASA DEVELOP interns at NCEI who participate in 10-week intensive capacity-building projects geared towards enthusiastic and motivated college students and transitioning young professionals. She is an advocate for use-inspired product development and enjoys collaborating with other organizations to create meaningful products for a wide array of users.

Outside of work, Karin enjoys quilting, crocheting, singing, gardening, playing handbells and cello, and spending time with her husband and two children.

How I became a scientist

Growing up in South Bend, Indiana, Karin was exposed to a lot of crazy weather like severe storms, tornadoes, lake effect snow, and blizzards. She originally intended to become a teacher, but a safety seminar given by a local emergency manager introduced her to the world of meteorology.

How my work benefits society

Karin’s work at NCEI includes:

  • Author/co-author/review scientific papers
    • Drought
    • Dataset development
    • Extremes research/product development
  • BAMS State of the Climate Annual Report
  • Web development
  • Design and make datasets accessible via the web
  • Interact with media, present at briefings/seminars
  • Author U.S. climate reports
  • K-12 educational outreach
  • Work with partner agencies to develop meaningful (and useful) climate tools