Hi Laurie,

The university where I work has requested that all employees outside of health care work remotely unless they provide a critical function that must be completed on campus. I started working from home on March 13. My research mostly involves analyzing satellite data which are available from public, online NASA data archives. I have a laptop which I use for writing papers and can log onto our research group's Linux workstations to analyze data from home, so working from home is not usually a problem for me.

The university has extended our spring break for another week, and when classes resume on March 30, they will be online only. The residence halls have been closed and only students who cannot immediately return to their permanent residence are allowed to stay. Many buildings on campus are closed, like the libraries and student union. However, students, faculty, and staff can still access online library resources. The spring commencement ceremonies and other public events have been either cancelled or postponed.

Kris

Hi,

I'm also in the lucky camp that I can basically do all my work from home. I did have to bring home a small external drive from work that houses a lot of satellite data that I use, but for the most part I can do everything as long as I have a good internet connection.

Unlike some people here, I don't teach, so I don't have the added complications of figuring out the best way of doing that online.

My biggest issue is to keep myself from wandering into my kitchen and grabbing another snack every 30-60 minutes!

Stay safe,
Christina

Hi!

Yes, we voluntarily started working from home last week, but now Colorado has a 'stay at home' order starting up (I'm in Boulder). I feel very very lucky to be in the position of being able to work and still get paid, so I'm trying to keep local businesses going by ordering take-out more than I usually do! I am in the middle of writing a couple of papers and a proposal, so as long as the internet stays up, I'm still able to be productive.

One of my biggest challenges (ok, don't laugh) is trying to work with a cat who insists on being in my lap 24/7. People with whom I video-chat make fun of me, I always have this big black furball in the video image with me. I'm sure he'll be there this afternoon at the hangout!

Still, it does make it more difficult. Part of science for many of us is being able to discuss ideas with colleagues "in the moment", not putting it on a list for a scheduled 3pm telecon...those lists get long, it gets exhausting, less spontaneous. I miss walking down the hall to brainstorm. I also cannot use the voice-recognition system at home that I have at work, and so due to some medical stuff, I type slower (and cannot keep up with my brain), which is frustrating. I also work part-time in Japan at Nagoya University (konnichi-wa!), and that work has also become remote because I cannot travel there (I returned *just* in time late February from my last trip!), and with the time zone difference, that makes for very very late nights. I likely will be unable to travel there easily for many months.

I do hope all of you and your families stay well, keep your brains active! -KD

Hi Laurie,

We were put on mandatory telework over a week ago, and all of the schools and colleges have been closed. My spouse also works at NASA so we have two teleworking scientists, a college student remotely working, a middle schooler, an elementary schooler, and 3 dogs contending for space in the house. Oofta.

But sadly, we had a sounding rocket flight pushed off indefinitely (I was supposed to be in White Sands New Mexico for integration and launch for a month starting in April). We may not be able to reschedule that for another year. :-/ I had other conference and research trips canceled as well. And I am having to coordinate reduction in operations for one of our solar satellites (Hinode) in order to take the load off of the operators who cannot physically access their control centers.

We're all making it work as best as we can. Keep safe and active!

Sabrina

Hi Laurie!

I am an electrical engineer who is self-employed. I have focused on solar electric systems, (photovoltaics or PV for short). I have several hats I wear: inspector, designer, design reviewer, instructor for solar job training, and troubleshooter. I am under a shelter in place order, so am staying home, but I can do a lot of things here at home.

I love my job for several reasons, but one is that I have a great deal of flexibility. I work hard and get paid well, so if I want to take a vacation, (or am stuck at home like this), I can. It's a great vocation for a mom too!

Stay safe and keep those questions coming,
Kelly Larson

Hello Laurie,

I work at the same NASA center as Sabrina, so have been working from home for two weeks now. Last week, I was allowed to return to the office and retrieve my desktop computer and monitor, so I can happily work on data and comfortably do other work with a bigger screen. I was on a two day telecon (audio only) Wednesday and Thursday, so that actually helped me feel more connected with the rest of the world. That telecon included scientists from Europe, Japan, Canada, and the U.S. It is interesting that we are all working from home.

Like K.D., I have two kitties who seem to want to get between me and the computer when there is a video conference. Fortunately, everyone seems to enjoy seeing them. I actually think that my cats have been stressed with all the changes that included moving furniture around a bit and adding this computer. Today they seem relatively relaxed though.

Thanks for your question!