Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771 

ENGINEERING COLLOQUIUM
Annual Moe I. Schneebaum Lecture 

Monday, September 17, 2001 / 3:30 PM, Building 8 Auditorium 

Rita Colwell

ABSTRACT -- Climate has been associated with human health in legend and superstition for centuries. Research has only recently begun to chart the extremely complex interactions between some infectious diseases and climate patterns. New knowledge and new tools – from genetics to ecology, and from satellites to terascale computing – have produced a revolution in our understanding of the factors linking climate and health. Historically, infectious diseases have had a profound effect on human populations, including their evolution and cultural development. Despite significant advances in medical science, infectious diseases continue to affect human populations in many parts of the world. Emerging diseases – infections that either are newly appearing in the population or are rapidly increasing in incidence or expanding in geographic range – have raised new concerns about the phenomenon of human-induced climate alteration and its potential effects on human health. These new research challenges are marked by increasing complexity, the need for multidisciplinary collaboration, and the growing urgency to put new knowledge to use almost immediately to improve people’s lives (see http://www .hsph.harvard.edu/ats/Apr28/ (a non-NASA link)).

SPEAKER -- Dr. Rita Colwell became the 11th Director of the National Science Foundation on August 4, 1998. Since taking office, Dr. Colwell has spearheaded the agency's emphases in K-12 science and mathematics education, graduate science and engineering education/training and the increased participation of women and minorities in science and engineering. Her policy approach has enabled the agency to strengthen its core activities, as well as establish support for major initiatives, including Nanotechnology, Biocomplexity, Information Technology, and the 21st Century Workforce. In her capacity as NSF Director, she serves as Co-chair of the Committee on Science of the National Science and Technology Council.

Before coming to NSF, Dr. Colwell was President of the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute, 1991-1998, and Professor of Microbiology at the University Maryland. She was also a member of the National Science Board (NSF's governing body) from 1984 to 1990. Dr. Colwell has held numerous advisory positions in the U.S. Government, international community, and private foundations. She is a nationally respected scientist and educator, and has authored or co-authored 16 books and more than 600 scientific publications. She produced the award-winning film, Invisible Seas, and has served on editorial boards for a variety of journals.

Dr. Colwell has previously served as Chairman of the Board of Governors of the American Academy of Microbiology and also as President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Washington Academy of Sciences, the American Society for Microbiology, the Sigma Xi National Science Honorary Society, and the International Union of Microbiological Societies. Dr. Colwell is a member of the National Academy of Sciences. Born in Beverly, Massachusetts, she holds a B.S. in Bacteriology and an M.S. in Genetics, from Purdue University, and a Ph.D. in Oceanography from the University of Washington.