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Mark A. Garcia
Continuing the temperature trend from this summer, September 2023 was the hottest September on record, according to scientists at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS). The month also set the record for the highest temperature anomaly – the largest difference from the long-term average.
This visualization shows global temperature anomalies along with the underlying seasonal cycle. Temperatures advance from January through December left to right, rising during warmer months and falling during cooler months. The color of each line represents the year, with colder purples for the 1960s and warmer oranges and yellows for more recent years. A long-term warming trend can be seen as the height of each month increases over time, the result of human activities releasing greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
“What’s remarkable is that these record values are happening before the peak of the current El Nino event, whereas in 2016 the previous record values happened in the spring, after the peak,” said Gavin Schmidt, director of GISS. El Nino is the warm phase of a naturally recurring pattern of trade winds and ocean temperatures in the Eastern Tropical Pacific that influences global temperatures and precipitation patterns.
By Katy Mersmann
NASA Goddard
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Katy Mersmann
2 min read
Dr. Azlin Biaggi-Labiosa, born and raised in Puerto Rico, made a courageous decision to pivot her academic studies – launching her towards an accomplished career in defense, space, and aeronautics research for NASA.
She headed to medical school after earning her undergraduate degree in chemistry from the University of Puerto Rico. After two years, she knew it was not the right path for her and shifted her sights to graduating with a doctorate in physics.
Now, she manages foundational electrified aircraft propulsion research for NASA’s Transformational Tools and Technologies project, leading a team of researchers aiming to develop innovative materials and methods to advance sustainable aviation.
This past year, she gave back to her alma mater. Dr. Biaggi-Labiosa was instrumental in organizing university engagements and industry visits to Puerto Rico, building relationships with NASA. She delivered a project overview in Spanish to an engaged group of engineering students and has helped recruit inspiring individuals for NASA internships.
Today, we celebrate Dr. Biaggi-Labiosa’s selection as a 2023 Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Awards Conference (HENAAC) award winner in the category of Outstanding Technical Achievement – Government.
Individuals who are awarded in the Outstanding Technical Achievement category have made a significant technological contribution to STEM through key research and by having designed, developed, managed, or assisted in the development of a product, service, system, or intellectual property.
The HENAAC awards were created in 1989 to honor the world-class achievements of outstanding Hispanic engineers, scientists, and STEM professionals.
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Lillian Gipson
“I can almost directly trace my entire career back to [my extracurriculars] in high school and a mentor I had. My first foray into engineering was this high school program called the Robotics Science Academy. It was basically my high school’s attempt to put together a curriculum that was designed specifically to prepare students for an engineering track in college. But since it was the first year of trying this program, there were only about eight of us. The high school teacher leading the robotics track, Mr. Donelson, was always [encouraging] about trying new things and getting out of our comfort zone. And I think that always really helped me.
“So I owe a lot to him, for sure. He would stay after school with us and walk us through our assignments, and ended up encouraging us to enter an underwater robotics competition. Because we were fairly landlocked — which is obviously not great for underwater robotics that are meant for deep sea missions — we sort of lucked our way into the international competition.
“Even so, we ended up winning a ‘bang for your buck’ award based on the amount of tasks we completed in the mission and the cost of our robot, because the cost was very, very low. It was just this Frankenstein monstrosity of PVC pipes and messy high schooler soldering and wiring. But no matter how it looked, I was lucky to have teachers like Mr. Donelson to push all of us forward.”
— Jennifer Hamilton, Communications Lead, ISS Research Integration Office, NASA’s Johnson Space Center
Image Credit: NASA / James Blair
Interviewer: NASA / Thalia Patrinos
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Thalia K. Patrinos
Three employees from NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland have been chosen to receive awards that recognize the achievements of outstanding Hispanic engineers, scientists, and STEM professionals.
Janette C. Briones, Azlin Biaggi-Labiosa, and Nelson Morales will be presented with Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Award Corporation (HENAAC) and Luminary awards during the Great Minds in STEM conference in Pasadena, California, held from Oct. 11 through 14.
Learn more about the NASA Glenn honorees and each of their recognitions:
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Kelly M. Matter
