Michalak was appointed to the faculty at the
University of Michigan. She joined the faculty at the
Carnegie Institution for Science in 2011 and was made Director in 2020. Michalak's research considers planet Earth's cycles of greenhouse gases and primarily makes use of atmospheric observations. She uses these observations to better inform climate models, for example her efforts show that during the growing season, farms in the
Midwestern United States are removing considerably more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than expected. Whilst drought dominates the research into carbon accounting, Michalak has shown that floods may be more important than droughts. This is because they suppress rates of
photosynthesis, the process by which plants take up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. She is interested in climate change and how humans have impacted fresh and coastal water quality. She has shown how changes in rainfall patterns can act to exacerbate harmful blooms of algae. Michalak is committed climate policy and building a more robust scientific community. Michalak is the lead author of the U.S. Carbon Cycle Science Plan, which includes a detailed description of the carbon stocks and flows on planet Earth. The plan outlines a series of recommendations, including the needs to strengthen networks of observation to monitor and track carbon, develop numerical models to better predict future behaviour and train researchers to better communicate their findings with policy makers and the general public. == Awards and honors ==