Dr. Lora Koenig

Dr. Lora Koenig

Senior Research Scientist, National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC)

Biography

Dr. Lora Koenig is a Research Scientist a Lockheed Martin and a Senior Research Scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center at the University of Colorado.  She is an expert in remote sensing of ice sheets and snow. Dr. Koenig’s primary research detects changes occurring on the surface of the ice sheets and how these changes will ultimately affect global sea level.   Her studies over the Greenland and Antarctica ice sheets include measurements on very small scales, using field techniques like snow pits and ice cores, and over broad scales, using airborne and space-borne sensors across the electromagnetic spectrum. She has spent over 14 months in the Arctic and Antarctic, studying changes in snow fall and how melt water is percolating and storing within the ice sheet, hidden from most sensors.  Dr. Koenig spent 6 years working for NASA where she served as the Deputy Project Scientist for Operation IceBridge, the largest polar airborne mission ever flown.  At the University of Colorado, she served as the primary investigator or technical lead on multiple NASA, NSF and DoD projects.  She is an advocate for increasing diversity and inclusion in science and is currently serving on the American Geophysical Union Council, the Council Leadership team and as the elected President of the Cryosphere Sciences Section.  Dr. Koenig often speaks to the public about her scientific studies including an interview with StoryCorps, an invited lecture at the Library of Congress and numerous demonstrations and talks to K-12 teachers and classrooms.