I have Bachelors degrees in physics, astronomy, and music from the University of Washington, Masters degrees in library & information science (UW) and robotics (CMU), and a PhD from Carnegie Mellon in robotics. I am a continual student and have a wide range of interests, so writing a science blog is a perfect way for me to justify reading and learning about everything I can.

I worked at NASA's Johnson Space Center for about 7 years following my formal education, developing software for space exploration robots. During both my graduate work and my NASA work, I participated in many remote robotic field tests, in the Canadian Arctic, Antarctica, Arizona, and Utah. I've also written or co-written about 3 dozen conference papers, journal articles, and book chapters, mostly about space robotics.

I am currently a stay-at-home mom to 3 children, and am pursuing writing (among other things) as a hobby, and hopefully, a new career. I've published a couple non-fiction articles, including one about my Antarctic robotic work in Highlights for Children magazine, and am working on a science fiction novel.