2026 AGU ELECTIONS
Steven A. Hauck
AGU Board of Directors
Director II
Bio
Professor and Department Chair, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA
AGU embraces the global community and welcomes leaders representing various identities, voices and perspectives. List any identities, voices and perspectives you would bring, including but not limited to nationality, regional representations, racial and ethnic backgrounds, and anything else you feel comfortable sharing.
As a planetary geophysicist also trained as an engineer, I have an outlook that leans heavily toward discovery science yet is grounded in solution-oriented approaches. My identity is rooted as a second-generation geoscientist who grew up in a mining exploration family through boom-bust cycles and first worked in a natural resources research institute. Having lived in both smaller towns and metropolitan areas across the US and studied abroad in Japan, my perspectives have been informed by a broad set of community and environmental issues. I have also lived my entire life in a family defined by the daily impacts of roadblocks to accessibility, inclusiveness, and equity and the work to eliminate such barriers. Beyond research, my professional perspectives are shaped by deep involvement in journal editing and publication. They have also led to a focus on the intentional development of collaborative and supportive environments from lab, to committee, to departmental, to community scales through work at my home institution, AGU, spacecraft mission teams, and community organizations, such as NASA’s Mercury Exploration Assessment Group. This work has also cultivated experience in organizational operations, building global networks, and strategic and financial planning.
Volunteer experience that you feel relates to this position:
AGU, Current: Council, Council Leadership Team, Publications Committee Chair; Previous: Associate Editor and Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, member of four Editor-in-Chief search committees, Search Advisory Committee: Executive Vice President of Science. Case Western Reserve University, Current: AI Governance Committee; Previous: Co-chair University IT Strategic Plan, Faculty Senate, FS-IT Committee Chair. Mercury Exploration Assessment Group (MExAG) for NASA: Founding Chair, Co-convener MExAG 2022, MExAG 2023, MExAG 2024. National Research Council: Planetary Science Decadal Survey for 2013-2022, Inner Planets Panel.
Q&A
AGU’s Board of Directors is responsible for the governance, fiduciary and reputational health of the organization and handles its business affairs. The primary role of an AGU Board director is to partner with the other Board members and staff to lead the organization.
Board members work together with other volunteer leaders and staff to play a key role in implementing AGU’s strategic plan.
How do you imagine the global science ecosystem of the future, and how should AGU steward and empower its community to strengthen the organization and ensure lasting impact?
What must we begin doing today to prepare for that future?
What skills, experiences, and perspective would you bring to the Board in service to AGU’s mission?
AGU’s foundational principle of “unselfish cooperation in research” has always inspired me as it evokes the high standards we set for ourselves as a community in how we should go about our work. Perhaps as a result, I see a global science future typified by meaningful and equitable scientific collaboration and progress across communities around the globe as the kind of future we need. Achieving such a vision requires reducing friction in scientific communication and access to data and resources, while respecting local and Indigenous values. The voice and actions of the AGU community, and its support for open, transparent science, are key. AGU must focus on having scientific meetings and publications that are within everyone’s reach, which is a real and present challenge we must meet. AGU, as a large, global scientific society, also has the opportunity to lead in building greater trust in science, leaning on our history of integrity in science and communication.
The inherent value of servant leadership is one of my core beliefs and guides my approach to leadership in professional and community settings. As a result, I tend to focus on building teams and fostering inclusion, empowering people, and working towards collective strategic and scientific goals. I am driven by opportunities to help those around me to achieve goals. Along the way, I have developed experience in collaborating and leading in professional organizations by listening, engaging with the tough questions with respect and honesty, and focusing on transparent decision-making to reach collective strategic goals.