Michael Prather is a professor emeritus in the Department of Earth System Science at UCI. Science has always been intriguing to Michael because it allowed him to explore and learn things that the world doesn’t know about yet. Growing up, he had the freedom to choose his own career path but he had difficulty deciding what he wanted to do in particular. Consequently, Michael explored many different academic fields throughout his journey including mathematics, physics, astronomy, and then finally, environmental science. Currently, Michael is modeling trace gases (ozone in particular) through a three-dimensional model to better understand how it responds and lives when indirectly polluted. He believes keeping track of your carbon footprint and having an awareness of the climate cost is important in building a sustainable environment. Michael’s work also involves looking at climate statistics and he thinks that is a great skill to learn in PK-12 classes because looking at changes in the climate over time and discussing the stats can expose students to climate awareness earlier on since the climate is an essential part of our lives. Lastly, Michael greatly appreciates the work PK-12 teachers are doing and will always support and lend a hand whenever he can.