David Burtt, Ph.D., is in his second year as a NASA Postdoctoral Program Fellow, studying martian geology using data from the Mars rover at the Goddard Space Flight Center. Burtt wound his way through several scientific disciplines before focusing on extraterrestrial geology. He discusses the pivotal moment where he had the courage to talk to an advisor about research he was working on. It wasn’t exciting to him, so he pivoted. Burtt talks about working on the Mars rover in preparation for the Artemis project, the value of mentorship, the importance of collaborating with hundreds of people on one of the world’s biggest, most important projects and the importance of connection to other people. Check out the conversation. Learn more about the NASA Postdoctoral Program fellowship, visit https://npp.orau.org/index.html.

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Michael Holtz Host, Further Together: The ORAU Podcast

Michael Holtz, APR, MPRCA, is a senior communications and marketing specialist for ORAU, a government contractor based in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. In his role he serves as the host of Further Together: The ORAU Podcast. He is also a content creator for orau.org and ORAU Story, the company's annual report. He also manages media relations activities for the organization. Outside of work, Michael is a cancer activist, leaning into his experience as a 12-year survivor of Stage 3B rectal cancer. Michael is a volunteer for Man Up to Cancer, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, Fight Colorectal Cancer and the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship. Michael lives in Knoxville, Tennessee, with his lovely wife, Sarah, and their rescue dog, a golden bassett named Marley.