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

Dr. Ralph Adolphs is the Bren Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience and Professor of Biology at the California Institute of Technology. He received his PhD in Neurobiology from Caltech and completed his postdoctoral training at the University of Iowa. Ralph is here with us today to tell us about his journey through life and science.

Dr. David Klahr is the Walter van Dyke Bingham Professor of Cognitive Development and Education Sciences in the Department of Psychology at Carnegie Mellon University. He is also the Training Director of the Program in Interdisciplinary Education Research and is on the Executive Committee and is the Education Director for the Pittsburgh Science of Learning Center. After completing his undergraduate at MIT, he worked for a few years before returning to graduate school, receiving his Masters Degree from the Carnegie Institute of Technology and his PhD from Carnegie Mellon University. Dr. Klahr served briefly on the faculty of the University of Chicago, before joining the faculty at Carnegie Mellon University where he remains today. David has received many awards and honors during his career. He is a member of the National Academy of Education, an Inaugural Fellow of the American Educational Research Association, a Fellow of both the Developmental and Experimental Divisions of the American Psychological Association, and also a Founding Fellow of the American Psychological Society. David is here with us today to tell us about his journey through life and science.

Dr. Michael Snyder is the Stanford Ascherman Professor and Chair of the Department of Genetics at Stanford University, as well as the Director of the Stanford Center for Genomics and Personalized Medicine. Mike is also a co-founder of several biotechnology companies, including Protometrix (now part of Life Technologies), Affomix (now part of Illumina), Excelix, and Personalis, and he presently serves on the board of a number of companies. He received his PhD from the California Institute of Technology and completed postdoctoral training at Stanford University. He served on the faculty at Yale University for over 20 years before joining the faculty at Stanford. Mike has received many awards and honors during his career, including the Burroughs Wellcome Scholar Award, the Connecticut Medal of Science, and the Pioneer Award from the Human Proteome Organization. Mike is here with us today to tell us about his journey through life and science.

Dr. Ray Arvidson is a James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences and the Director of the Earth and Planetary Remote Sensing Laboratory at Washington University in St. Louis. He is also the Deputy Principal Investigator for the Mars Exploration Rover Mission as well as a member of the Science team of Curiosity Rover Mission of 2012. He received his Masters and PhD from Brown University and joined the faculty at Washington University afterwards. He has received many awards and honors in his career, including three NASA Public Service Medals, a Washington University Distinguished Faculty Award, Washington University Advisor of the Year Award, the Missouri Governor's Award for Excellence in Teaching, the Student Union Professor of the Year Award, the Outstanding Graduate Faculty Mentor Award, the Arthur Holly Compton Award for Faculty Achievement, the Whipple Award from the American Geophysical union, and a number of NASA citations and awards from Washington University in Saint Louis. In addition, Ray was recently inducted into Williamstown High School Hall of Fame. He is also a Fellow of the Geological Society of America and the American Geophysical Union. Ray is here with us today to tell us about his journey through life and science.

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.