{"id":1461,"date":"2026-08-07T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-07T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/dragonfly\/?p=1461"},"modified":"2026-09-16T10:30:18","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T14:30:18","slug":"how-nasa-and-biology-collide-insights-from-barbra-sobhani","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/dragonfly\/2026\/08\/how-nasa-and-biology-collide-insights-from-barbra-sobhani\/","title":{"rendered":"How NASA and Biology Collide: Insights from Barbra Sobhani"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1007\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/\/dragonfly\/files\/2026\/05\/unnamed-1007x1024.png\" alt=\"A professional headshot of Barbra Sobhani, a woman with long blonde hair, glasses, and a bright smile. She is wearing a black blazer over a dark shirt patterned with a starry galaxy print, set against a neutral grey background.\" class=\"wp-image-1462\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/dragonfly\/files\/2026\/05\/unnamed-1007x1024.png 1007w, https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/dragonfly\/files\/2026\/05\/unnamed-295x300.png 295w, https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/dragonfly\/files\/2026\/05\/unnamed-768x781.png 768w, https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/dragonfly\/files\/2026\/05\/unnamed.png 1162w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1007px) 100vw, 1007px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Barbra Sobhani discusses her interdisciplinary work in physics and environmental science, highlighting the delicate ecological balance of high-altitude landscapes like the Great Sand Dunes.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">From the Great Sand Dunes of Colorado to the craters of the moon, <strong>Barbra Sobhani<\/strong> is proof that conservation leadership knows no atmospheric bounds. In this episode, host <strong>Kevin Matteson<\/strong> sits down with Barbra\u2014a Project Dragonfly AIP graduate, State Director for the NASA Colorado Space Grant Consortium, and a Master Birder\u2014to discuss how studying life on Earth prepares us for the stars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-f9faaab3 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-medium\"><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/wbvxgc8UwcI?si=Dbv-4pmEPi0woBWT\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"68\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/\/dragonfly\/files\/2026\/01\/youtube-image-removebg-preview-300x68.png\" alt=\"Listen on Youtube\" class=\"wp-image-432\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/dragonfly\/files\/2026\/01\/youtube-image-removebg-preview-300x68.png 300w, https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/dragonfly\/files\/2026\/01\/youtube-image-removebg-preview-1024x233.png 1024w, https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/dragonfly\/files\/2026\/01\/youtube-image-removebg-preview-768x175.png 768w, https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/dragonfly\/files\/2026\/01\/youtube-image-removebg-preview.png 1047w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-medium\"><a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/its-never-too-late-bridging-the-gap-between-nasa\/id1866616919?i=1000767979902\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"71\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/\/dragonfly\/files\/2026\/01\/apple-podcast-1-300x71.png\" alt=\"Listen on Apple Podcast\" class=\"wp-image-435\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/dragonfly\/files\/2026\/01\/apple-podcast-1-300x71.png 300w, https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/dragonfly\/files\/2026\/01\/apple-podcast-1-768x182.png 768w, https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/dragonfly\/files\/2026\/01\/apple-podcast-1.png 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-medium\"><a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/episode\/62pQHLP12oULJVdWrN7nC8?si=YrfbvLb5TvyujgJtJdNoRA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"73\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/\/dragonfly\/files\/2026\/01\/Spotify-300x73.png\" alt=\"List on Spotify\" class=\"wp-image-437\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/dragonfly\/files\/2026\/01\/Spotify-300x73.png 300w, https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/dragonfly\/files\/2026\/01\/Spotify-768x186.png 768w, https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/dragonfly\/files\/2026\/01\/Spotify.png 1015w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>3 Key Takeaways<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Earth as a Space Analog:<\/strong> NASA\u2019s work isn&#8217;t just about rockets; a significant portion involves Earth observation. By studying extreme environments and biodiversity on our home planet, scientists gain critical insights into species survivability and climate change that inform the search for life elsewhere.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The Power of Community Connections:<\/strong> Barbra\u2019s journey from a community college educator to a NASA director was fueled by the local partnerships she forged during her Master\u2019s. Her work with Denver Audubon began as a class project and evolved into a leadership role in the Master Birder program.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Interdisciplinary Inquiry:<\/strong> Whether students are designing autonomous lunar rovers or handheld water-quality sensors, the core of the work is the same: student-driven inquiry. Barbara emphasizes that conservation leadership principles can be infused into any field, from engineering to the geosciences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/\/dragonfly\/files\/2026\/05\/unnamed-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"A vast landscape of rolling tan sand dunes in Colorado, featuring a prominent winding ridge and distant snow-capped mountain peaks under a clear blue sky.\" class=\"wp-image-1463\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/dragonfly\/files\/2026\/05\/unnamed-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/dragonfly\/files\/2026\/05\/unnamed-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/dragonfly\/files\/2026\/05\/unnamed-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/dragonfly\/files\/2026\/05\/unnamed-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/dragonfly\/files\/2026\/05\/unnamed.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Barbra Sobhani explores the dynamic intersection of geology and physics within the Great Sand Dunes, where mountain winds and valley waters collaborate to sculpt North America\u2019s tallest dunes.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The &#8220;Hidden Gem&#8221; Teaser<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Keep an ear out for the segment where Barbra describes the <strong>Statewide Robotics Challenge<\/strong>. You\u2019ll hear how undergraduate teams are engineering rovers capable of drilling sand cores in &#8220;Mars-like&#8221; terrain\u2014and how these high-tech projects are being linked back to ground-truthing satellite data for environmental monitoring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em>Listen to the episode on <\/em><\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/its-never-too-late-bridging-the-gap-between-nasa\/id1866616919?i=1000767979902\" title=\"\"><strong><em>Apple Podcasts<\/em><\/strong><\/a><strong><em>, <\/em><\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/episode\/62pQHLP12oULJVdWrN7nC8?si=YrfbvLb5TvyujgJtJdNoRA\" title=\"\"><strong><em>Spotify<\/em><\/strong><\/a><strong><em>, <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/wbvxgc8UwcI?si=Dbv-4pmEPi0woBWT\" title=\"\">YouTube<\/a>, or on your favorite podcast platform.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em><strong><em>Check out the full list of podcasts on our <\/em><\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/\/dragonfly\/dragonfly-conversations\/\"><strong><em>Dragonfly Conversations<\/em><\/strong><\/a><strong><em> page.<\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>From the Great Sand Dunes of Colorado to the craters of the moon, Barbra Sobhani is proof that conservation leadership knows no atmospheric bounds. In [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9421,"featured_media":1462,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[13,27],"class_list":["post-1461","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dragonfly-conversations","tag-dragonfly-community","tag-inquiry-based-learning"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t<!-- All in One SEO 5.0.2 - aioseo.com -->\n\t<meta name=\"description\" content=\"From the Great Sand Dunes of Colorado to the craters of the moon, Barbra Sobhani is proof that conservation leadership knows no atmospheric bounds. 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