Celebrating a Collaborative Career

In December of 2021, one of IMPACT’s valuable mentors retired after twenty-seven years of service to NASA. The IMPACT team bid farewell and happy retirement to a collaborator and much loved colleague, Christopher Lynnes. By the end of his twenty-seven-year career at NASA, Chris served as the system architect for NASA’s Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS). It was in this role that most of the IMPACT team worked with him on a daily basis.

Chris started his NASA career as a contractor in 1991 leading the software development of NASA’s Version 0 Goddard Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC). In 1994, he joined NASA as the chief systems engineer for the Goddard DAAC, responsible for overall architecture and implementation. He joined NASA’s Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS) Project in 2016 as one of two EOSDIS system architects, working primarily on data usage. Chris was just awarded the Martha Maiden Award for lifetime achievement at the 2022 winter meeting of the Earth Science Information Partners, an organization he helped to found.

Chris made a lasting impact on NASA’s Earth observation missions by defining and shepherding data systems through major evolution events, beginning with the creation of the Goddard Version 0 DAAC. Likewise in the mid 2000s, he facilitated the transition of the Goddard DAAC (now called the Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center or GES DISC) from a large, tape-dependent commercial system to an all-disk archive enabling instant data downloads for everyone. Most recently, he and fellow system architect Katie Baynes formulated and initiated the current phase of cloud migration enabling an analysis-in-place capability for data at scale. Efforts like these comprised what Chris found most fulfilling about his career at NASA:

"Most memorable is the community aspect of Earth science data systems and informatics, from the revolutionary distributed-but-interoperable data system of EOSDIS Version 0, to the Earth Science Information Partners federation, to working at ESDIS to (re)build our EOSDIS community model, to the current and future Earth Science Data Systems program."

"Study what makes people tick and what makes groups work. Collaboration is central to success. Having a better understanding of people enables better collaborations. Relationships are essential to making collaborations work, and trust is crucial between the adopters and innovators. Learn how to build trust, initiate, and work through collaborations."

It is no surprise that IMPACT’s team members had no shortage of praise and fond memories to share. Manil Maskey attested to Chris’s focus on building up those around him:

"I first met Chris in 2003 or 2004. The way he treated me as a newcomer is the same way he treats me now as a colleague. He always goes above and beyond in his collaborations."

Kaylin Bugbee echoed Manil’s thoughts:

"His career is inspiring, and as someone who is in her early career, he inspires me as a person. I really appreciate his encouragement and support. He is always willing to answer questions and provide guidance. He has a thirst for knowledge and growth; he continues to learn new things."

Rahul Ramachandran, who has co-authored thirty-one papers with Chris, shared:

"I’ve known Chris for a long time; he is one of the smartest people I know who can connect all the dots. But he is also a kind person and willing to collaborate. I’m grateful to Chris for all his leadership and for being part of IMPACT. I’m really going to miss him."

Asked what he thinks he’ll do next, Chris responded with “machine learning craft projects”, and learning to play the bass guitar. We thank Chris for his valuable time spent with IMPACT and wish him well.