NCAR researchers are studying whether the eruption of Indonesia’s Mt. Toba supervolcano about 70,000–75,000 years ago may have cooled Earth enough to initiate an ice age and potentially alter the course of human evolution.

Bret Harper, Consultant • Harper's graduate study focused on wind climatology, but he works on a variety of questions as a consultant, including hydroelectric feasibility studies, dam inspections, and integrated resource planning.

Travis Metcalfe, NCAR's High Altitude Observatory • How common are planets like Earth around other stars like the Sun? Are we unique, rare, or typical in that regard? Metcalfe likes asking big questions.

The renewable energy consultant glimpsed the life of a research scientist while earning his bachelor's and master's degrees. He'd go back for a Ph.D. if he ever felt the need, but at the moment he's an articulate proponent of a career in the business world.