By Wonsuh Song
Former president of the American Geophysical Union (AGU), Prof. Lisa Graumlich, delivered a lecture in New Orleans highlighting transformation, inclusion, and cultural change within the scientific community.
Her talk was part of the session “Rooted in Joy: Centering Belonging, Accessibility, Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (B-A-JEDI)”, focusing on education and outreach in Earth, Planetary, and Space Science (EPSS).
Prof. Graumlich reflected on her early career, describing feelings of anxiety and not belonging in science. Rather than following a traditional academic leadership path, she contributed as an AGU Board member and played a key role in shaping the current AGU strategic plan, which places discovery science and solution-oriented science on equal footing.
As AGU president, she deliberately broke with tradition by inviting Indian author Amitav Ghosh—rather than an astronaut or senior scientist—as a plenary speaker. Ghosh’s lecture challenged Western, colonial assumptions in science while maintaining deep respect for scientific practice, particularly in discussions of climate adaptation and Indigenous, place-based knowledge.
The strong audience engagement following the lecture, with attendees lining up holding heavily annotated copies of his books, illustrated the scientific community’s openness to broader perspectives.
AGU was established in 1919 by the U.S. National Research Council and operated for more than 50 years as an unincorporated affiliate of the National Academy of Sciences before becoming independently incorporated in 1972.
The New Orleans meeting featured more than 20,000 presentations, reaffirming AGU’s status as the largest Earth and space science conference in the world.
Wonsuh Song (Ph.D.)
AGU Leadership Development / Governance Committee member
JpGU Global Strategy Committee member
Shumei University
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