Affiliation: Bay Area Environmental Research Institute, NASA Ames Research Center
Division: Earth Science Division (SG), NASA Earth Exchange (NEX)
Email: carl.a.norlen@nasa.gov
Carl Norlen is a Research Scientist with the NASA Earth Exchange (NEX) at the NASA Ames Research Center contributing to the Wildfire, Ecosystem Resilience, & Risk Assessment Initiative (WERK) project in partnership with the state of California. Carl is leading the creation of fuel data sets to aid in understanding the impacts and effectiveness of California’s increased investment in fuel treatments.
Previously, Carl served as a Presidential Management Fellow (PMF) with the USGS National Land Imaging program and USDA Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research station. As a PMF, Carl worked to better understand the needs of end users for Earth Observation based data, acted as a liaison for USGS to the National Space Council, and conducted research on impacts of urban fires on people and communities.
Prior to that Carl earned an MS and PhD from University of California, Irvine studying the impacts of droughts and fires on California forests, worked as a middle school science teacher in Gwinnett County, Georgia, and high school college access professional with the Upward Bound Programs at University of California, Riverside. Carl is passionate about making science actionable through meaningful and sustained partnerships with communities to advance equitable and science-based solutions to environmental problems.
Ph.D. Biological Sciences, University of California, Irvine, USA
M.S. Biological Sciences, University of California, Irvine, USA
Secondary Science (6-12) Teaching Credential, The New Teacher Project, USA
B.A. Biology, Studio Art (minor), Pomona College, USA
Impacts of climate change on ecology, biogeochemistry and human systems; Ecological theory; Disaster impacts, Land management to achieve ecological, biogeochemical, and societal goals; Remote sensing of ecosystem properties; Socio-ecological systems; Human dimensions of the earth system; Science education; Actionable science; Science decision support
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US Geological Survey Individual Award, 2024, 2025
Presidential Management Fellow, 2023
First Place, Space Diplomacy Hackathon, National Science Policy Network, 2022
NSF Research Traineeship Fellowship, 2021, 2022
UC Irvine School of Biological Sciences Dean’s Fellowship, 2018
UC Riverside STAR Aware, 2017, 2018
Georgia Intern Fellowship for Teachers, 2014
Washington State Scholar, 2006
National Merit Scholar, 2006
- Norlen, C.A., Sharma, S. & Escobedo, F.J. Socio-ecological impacts of the 2025 Los
Angeles urban fires on communities, neighborhoods, and homes. Nat Commun 17,
3941 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-71376-1 - Norlen CA, Hemes KS, Wang JA, Randerson JT, Battle JJ, Tubbesing CL, Goulden ML (2024) Recent fire history enhances semi-arid conifer forest drought resistance. Forest Ecology and Management, 573, 122331. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2024.122331
- Wang JA, Goulden ML, Norlen CA, Bhoot VN, Coffield S, Randerson JT (2024) Rising forest exposure and fire severity from climate warming amplify tree cover losses from wildfire in California. Environmental Research Letters, 19(11), 114087. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ad86cf
- Hill RJ, Djokic MA, Anderson A, Barbour K, Coleman AM, Guerra AD, Hunt C, Jolly A, Long JJ, Manley KT, Montoya JL, Norlen CA, Nugent-Suratt A, Washburn K, Weber S, Welch A, Wong C, Allison SD (2024) From Ridge 2 Reef: An Interdisciplinary Model for Training the Next Generation of Environmental Problem Solvers. Plos one, 19(12), e0314755. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0314755
- Norlen CA, Golden ML (2023) Recent tree mortality dampens semi-arid forest die-off during subsequent drought exposure. AGU Advances, 4(3), e2022AV000810. https://doi.org/10.1029/2022AV000810
Hemes KS, Norlen CA, Wang JA, Goulden ML, Field CB (2023) “The magnitude and pace of photosynthetic recovery after wildfire in California ecosystems.” Proceedings of the national academy of sciences, 120(15), e2201954120. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2201954120 - Cutie S, Aravindan A, Norlen CA (2023) “One Small Step: Anticipatory Diplomacy in
Outer Space” Federation of American Scientists, Day One Project. https://fas.org/publication/one-small-step-anticipatory-diplomacy-in-outer-space/ - Madakumbura GD, Goulden ML, Hall A, Fu R, Moritz MA, Koven CD, Kueppers LM, Norlen
CA, Randerson JT (2020) Recent California tree mortality portends future increase in
drought-driven forest die-off. Environmental Research Letters, 15(12), 124040.
https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abc719
