Counterclockwise from top left: Visiting Ngauruhoe volcano at the start of my Fulbright New Zealand Fellowship in January 2016; Listening to residents of Volcano, Hawaii in January 2020 discuss their experiences with hazard communications during Kīlauea volcano's 2018 eruption; Proudly presenting a framed copy of S.Res.247, a Senate resolution designating the month of May 2025 as National Wildfire Preparedness Month, at the end of my Congressional Science Fellowship in the Office of Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI).
Over the past decade, I have been driven to explore the intersection of scientific research and societal wellbeing. This desire evolved from my innate curiosity since childhood to understand how the Earth and universe operate, and led me to pursue a major in geology (with a minor in physics) at Pomona College, followed by a Fulbright Graduate Research Fellowship in New Zealand, and a volcanology-focused Ph.D. at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Along the way, I was fortunate enough to participate in many incredible summer research programs, from the Advanced Teen Astronomy Camp at Arizona's Mt. Lemmon Observatory in 2008, to the Physical Sciences Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program at the American Museum of Natural History, New York in 2013, and the Lunar Planetary Institute's Summer Intern Program in Houston, Texas, in 2015.
During my Ph.D. program, I was an NSF Graduate Research Fellow and University of Illinois Graduate College Fellow in the Department of Geology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), working with Dr. Trish Gregg (UIUC). My award-winning 3-minute Research Live! talk, which I gave near the start of my Ph.D., provides a fun overview of the geologic and computer-modeling components of my thesis research. As I gained a deeper understanding of how geologic hazards, such as earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions, impact communities throughout our country and the world, I also became increasingly interested in understanding how societies respond to natural disaster events, and the roles that Earth scientists play in preparing communities for and assisting emergency responses to those disasters. I was particularly inspired by a talk I attended during the Geological Society of America's 2018 Fall Meeting, given by Dr. Wendy Stovall (U.S. Geological Survey Volcano Hazards Program), on the unique role that U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) social media pages played in providing thousands of Hawaii residents with detailed, factual, and timely information during the 3-month-long eruption of Kīlauea volcano in 2018. The ability of Dr. Stovall and her colleagues to not only inform, but also directly and empathically engage with users curious or concerned about various eruption phenomena, motivated me to reach out to Wendy and propose an interdisciplinary research project to investigate and identify which public communication tools used by USGS scientists were most successful in keeping members of Hawaii's eruption-impacted communities informed during the 2018 eruption.
After applying for and receiving funding for this project through the National Science Foundation's Graduate Research Internship (GRIP) Program, I collaborated with Dr. Stovall, Dr. David Damby (USGS California Volcano Observatory), and Dr. Sara McBride (formerly with the USGS Geologic Hazards Science Center, now Executive Director of Seismic Safety at the California Seismic Safety Commission), to conduct a two-phase social science study into publics' perceptions of the efficacy of 2018 eruption communications provided by USGS scientists. Through this research--the results of which I published as two peer-reviewed scientific articles in the journals Volcanica and Frontiers in Communication--I heard directly from geographically and culturally diverse community voices about the role that USGS scientists' hazard communications played in their lives during the 3-month long eruption. I also gained a deeper understanding of how long-term relationship-building between scientists and the general public is critical for establishing public trust in the messages provided by those scientists during emergencies.
At the same time that I conducted my Ph.D. research, I was actively involved in science advocacy. From 2017 to 2023, I collaborated with other civically-oriented scientists to communicate the social and economic importance of robust government funding for basic science research to elected officials in state and federal government. At the same time, I led several public science outreach activities for communities in Illinois, including "Trashcano" demonstrations at UIUC's Engineering Open House and the 2019 School of Earth, Society, and Environment's Research Review symposium.
As I became more knowledgeable of the intersections between science, society, and policymaking through my research, advocacy, and outreach activities, I was motivated to pursue a post-doctoral career path in which I could apply my broad interdisciplinary skillset to directly advise government decisionmakers on policies both informed by science and benefitting our country's scientific enterprise. This led me to apply for and become the Geological Society of America's Congressional Science Fellow from September 2023 - August 2025. For my 2-year fellowship, I chose to work for Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI) so that I could apply my interdisciplinary science expertise toward helping the Senator develop and introduce wildfire- and other natural hazard mitigation bills in the aftermath of the Lahaina wildfire disaster of August 2023. This work was especially important to me as a scientist of Native Hawaiian heritage with relatives living in Honolulu. By the end of my fellowship, I had helped Senator Hirono introduce two bipartisan wildfire science bills: S. 602, the Wildfire Resilience through Grazing Research Act, which was introduced in February 2025, and S. Res. 247, a resolution designating May 2025 as "National Wildfire Preparedness Month," which passed the Senate by unanimous consent in June 2025.
Having worked across two different Senate party majorities and corresponding presidential administrations, I have gained an invaluable perspective of both the challenges and opportunities for developing bipartisan federal policies, particularly to address issues as universal as natural hazard mitigation. During this current era of increased uncertainty in the federal government's commitment to supporting scientific research, I continue to remain engaged with science policy advocacy through my role as the Chair-Elect of the Geological Society of America's Geology and Public Policy Committee.
Additional information regarding my research, professional, and outreach experiences is provided in my CV, below:
During my Ph.D. program, I was an NSF Graduate Research Fellow and University of Illinois Graduate College Fellow in the Department of Geology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), working with Dr. Trish Gregg (UIUC). My award-winning 3-minute Research Live! talk, which I gave near the start of my Ph.D., provides a fun overview of the geologic and computer-modeling components of my thesis research. As I gained a deeper understanding of how geologic hazards, such as earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions, impact communities throughout our country and the world, I also became increasingly interested in understanding how societies respond to natural disaster events, and the roles that Earth scientists play in preparing communities for and assisting emergency responses to those disasters. I was particularly inspired by a talk I attended during the Geological Society of America's 2018 Fall Meeting, given by Dr. Wendy Stovall (U.S. Geological Survey Volcano Hazards Program), on the unique role that U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) social media pages played in providing thousands of Hawaii residents with detailed, factual, and timely information during the 3-month-long eruption of Kīlauea volcano in 2018. The ability of Dr. Stovall and her colleagues to not only inform, but also directly and empathically engage with users curious or concerned about various eruption phenomena, motivated me to reach out to Wendy and propose an interdisciplinary research project to investigate and identify which public communication tools used by USGS scientists were most successful in keeping members of Hawaii's eruption-impacted communities informed during the 2018 eruption.
After applying for and receiving funding for this project through the National Science Foundation's Graduate Research Internship (GRIP) Program, I collaborated with Dr. Stovall, Dr. David Damby (USGS California Volcano Observatory), and Dr. Sara McBride (formerly with the USGS Geologic Hazards Science Center, now Executive Director of Seismic Safety at the California Seismic Safety Commission), to conduct a two-phase social science study into publics' perceptions of the efficacy of 2018 eruption communications provided by USGS scientists. Through this research--the results of which I published as two peer-reviewed scientific articles in the journals Volcanica and Frontiers in Communication--I heard directly from geographically and culturally diverse community voices about the role that USGS scientists' hazard communications played in their lives during the 3-month long eruption. I also gained a deeper understanding of how long-term relationship-building between scientists and the general public is critical for establishing public trust in the messages provided by those scientists during emergencies.
At the same time that I conducted my Ph.D. research, I was actively involved in science advocacy. From 2017 to 2023, I collaborated with other civically-oriented scientists to communicate the social and economic importance of robust government funding for basic science research to elected officials in state and federal government. At the same time, I led several public science outreach activities for communities in Illinois, including "Trashcano" demonstrations at UIUC's Engineering Open House and the 2019 School of Earth, Society, and Environment's Research Review symposium.
As I became more knowledgeable of the intersections between science, society, and policymaking through my research, advocacy, and outreach activities, I was motivated to pursue a post-doctoral career path in which I could apply my broad interdisciplinary skillset to directly advise government decisionmakers on policies both informed by science and benefitting our country's scientific enterprise. This led me to apply for and become the Geological Society of America's Congressional Science Fellow from September 2023 - August 2025. For my 2-year fellowship, I chose to work for Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI) so that I could apply my interdisciplinary science expertise toward helping the Senator develop and introduce wildfire- and other natural hazard mitigation bills in the aftermath of the Lahaina wildfire disaster of August 2023. This work was especially important to me as a scientist of Native Hawaiian heritage with relatives living in Honolulu. By the end of my fellowship, I had helped Senator Hirono introduce two bipartisan wildfire science bills: S. 602, the Wildfire Resilience through Grazing Research Act, which was introduced in February 2025, and S. Res. 247, a resolution designating May 2025 as "National Wildfire Preparedness Month," which passed the Senate by unanimous consent in June 2025.
Having worked across two different Senate party majorities and corresponding presidential administrations, I have gained an invaluable perspective of both the challenges and opportunities for developing bipartisan federal policies, particularly to address issues as universal as natural hazard mitigation. During this current era of increased uncertainty in the federal government's commitment to supporting scientific research, I continue to remain engaged with science policy advocacy through my role as the Chair-Elect of the Geological Society of America's Geology and Public Policy Committee.
Additional information regarding my research, professional, and outreach experiences is provided in my CV, below:
| rgoldman_cv_apr2026.pdf |
