Anthony Del Genio: Climates of Planets Near and Far

Plain language summary This essay describes a career that has spanned one of the most momentous periods in science history, a time when humankind first ventured into space, visited every planet in the Solar System, discovered thousands of planets orbiting other stars, and during this whole time, began to unintentionally transform the climate of our own planet. The author had the opportunity to do research in all these areas—after failing an early graduate school exam—and grew as a scientist along the way as the direct result of working across disciplines, with the help of many colleagues whose talents complemented and often exceeded his own.