People Behind the Science Podcast - Stories from Scientists about Science, Life, Research, and Science Careers

Dr. Hope Jahren is a Professor in the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology at the University of Hawaii. She received her PhD in Soil Science from the University of California at Berkeley. Hope was a faculty member at Georgia Tech and Johns Hopkins University before accepting a position at the University of Hawaii. She has received many awards and honors during her career, including the Fulbright Award in Geology, the Fulbright Award in Environmental Science, the Fulbright Award in Arctic Science, the ARCS Scientist of the Year Award for the Honolulu Chapter, and the Best University Research Award in the Department of Energy. She is one of four scientists, and the only woman, to have been awarded both of the Yount Investigator Medals given within the Earth Sciences: the Donath Medal (the Geological Society of America Young Scientist Award) and the James B. Macelwane Medal (American Geophysical Union Young Scientist Award). Hope is also a fellow of the Geological Society of America, a Biogeochemistry Fellow of the American Geophysical Union, an Aldo Leopold Leadership Fellow, and was named one of the Popular Science “Brilliant 10” in 2005. Hope is with us today to tell us all about her journey through life and science.

Dr. Joel S. Perlmutter is the Elliot Stein Family Professor of Neurology, Professor of Radiology, Neurobiology, Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy at Washington University in St. Louis. He is also Head of Movement Disorders, Director of the NeuroClinical Research Unit, Director, Director of the American Parkinson Disease Association Advanced Research Center for Parkinson Disease, and Director of the Huntington Disease Center of excellence all at Washington University in St. Louis. Joel received his undergraduate degree in biochemistry from Princeton University and his Medical Degree from the University of Missouri in Columbia. He completed his Residency in Neurology at the Washington University School of Medicine, followed by a Fellowship in the Department of Neurology at WashU as well. Joel has received many awards and honors in his career, including Eliasson Award for Teaching Excellence, the Outstanding Young Alumni Physician's Award from the University of Missouri, Mentor of the Year Award from the Women’s Academic Network at Washington University, a Special Recognition Award for Graduate Student Education at Washington University, and the Distinguished Service Teaching Award for Medical Students. Joel is also a Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology, a Fellow of the American Neurological Association, and a member of Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honorary Society. Joel is here with us today to tell us about his journey through life and science.

Dr. Cathy Dwyer is Team Leader and a Professor of Animal Behaviour and Welfare at Scotland’s Rural College. She received her PhD from the Royal Veterinary College in London before joining the Animal Behaviour and Welfare Team at Scotland’s Rural College. Cathy is with us today to tell us all about her journey through life and science.

Dr. Alex Hayes is an Assistant Professor of Astronomy at Cornell University. He received a Masters in Engineering from Cornell University and worked at the Jet Propulsion laboratory Lincoln laboratory at MIT and then Masters of Science and PhD from the California Institute of Technology. He served as a Miller fellow at UC Berkeley before joining the faculty at Cornell. He has received many awards and honors in his career, including being named a NASA Early Career Fellow and receiving the Ronald Greeley Early Career Award. Alex is here with us today to tell us about his journey through life and science.

Dr. Christopher Bettinger is an Assistant Professor of Materials Science and Biomedical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. He received a Masters of Engineering in Biomedical Engineering and a PhD in Materials Science and Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He completed his post-doctoral fellowship at Stanford University before joining the faculty at Carnegie Mellon. Chris has received many awards and honors in his career, includingthe National Academy of Sciences Award for Initiatives in Research, MIT Department of Materials Science and Engineering Award for “Outstanding PhD Thesis”, the ACS AkzoNobel Award for Polymer Chemistry, the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Society Young Investigator Award, and the MIT Tech Review TR35 Top Young Innovator. He is also a co-inventor on several patents and was a finalist in the MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition. Chris is here with us today to tell us about his journey through life and science.

Dr. Jonathan Lynch is a Professor of Plant Nutrition at Pennsylvania State University. He received his Masters and PhD in Plant Physiology from the University of California, Davis and completed his postdoctoral training at UC Davis as well. Jonathan worked as a Senior Staff Researcher at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture before joining the faculty at Penn State. Jonathan has received many awards and honors during his career. He was named a Distinguished Professor by the Mexican Academy of Science and is a Fellow of the Crop Science Society of America. He has also received the Alex and Jessie C. Black Award for Excellence in Agricultural Research, the Howard P. Taylor lectureship in root biology research, the China Friendship Award (the highest recognition awarded foreigners by the government of China), and the Excellent Educational Work Prize from Guangdong Province in China. Jonathan is here with us today to tell us about his journey through life and science.

Dr. Gene Robinson is the Swanlund Chair of Entomology, Director of the Institute for Genomic Biology, and Director of the Bee Research Facility at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He received his PhD in Entomology from Cornell University and joined the faculty of the University in 1989. Gene has received many awards and honors over the course of his career, including the Burroughs Wellcome Innovation Award in Functional Genomics, the Founders Memorial Award from the Entomological Society of America, a Fulbright Senior Research Fellowship, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and an NIH Pioneer Award. He is also a Fellow of the Animal Behavior Society, a Fellow of the Entomological Society of America, a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, and member of the US National Academy of Sciences. Gene is here with us today to tell us about his journey through life and science.

Dr. Amy Esler is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, a licensed psychologist in the Pediatric Autism Spectrum Disorder Clinic, and Director of the Fragile X Clinic at the University of Minnesota. Amy received her Masters in School Psychology and her PhD in School Psychology from the University of Minnesota. She worked as a school psychologist for a few years before going to the University of Michigan where she specialized in autism diagnosis and research. Amy is with us today to tell us all about her journey through life and science.

Dr. Larry Squire is a Professor of Psychiatry, Neurosciences, and Psychology at the University of California San Diego and a Senior Research Career Scientist at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in San Diego. He received his PhD From the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and completed his postdoctoral training at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine before joining the faculty at UCSD. Larry has received many honors and awards during his career. He is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, The National Academy of Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, and The Institute of Medicine. Larry also previously served as President of the Society for Neuroscience. He is also a William James Fellow of the American Psychological Society and has received many awards, including the Award for Scientific Reviewing from the National Academy of Sciences. Larry is here with us today to tell us about his journey through life and science.

Dr. Benjamin Halpern is a Professor in the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management at the University of California Santa Barbara and Chair in Marine Conservation at Imperial College London. He also serves as the Director of the Center for Marine Assessment and Planning (CMAP) at UC Santa Barbara and as a Research Associate at the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS). Ben received his PhD in Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology from the University of California Santa Barbara. Afterwards, he held a joint postdoctoral fellowship at the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis and the Smith Fellowship Program sponsored by The Nature Conservancy. He then worked as a Research Biologist at the Marine Science Institute and was a Center Associate of the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis before accepting his current positions. Ben is here with us today to tell us about his journey through life and science.