John Cassano is the lead scientist at NSIDC, a fellow of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), and a professor in the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences at the University of Colorado. His research group studies how the polar atmosphere interacts with the other components of the polar climate system—sea ice, ocean, ice sheets and land. The Cassano research group develops and uses weather and climate models to study how atmospheric processes shape polar climate. They conduct field campaigns to observe the polar atmosphere, using autonomous observing systems such as unmanned aircraft (drones), to make measurements under difficult environmental conditions. They also use model and satellite datasets for their research. Cassano has a passion for sharing science, stories and photographs from the polar regions with diverse audiences including K-12 students, college and university students, and the broader public.