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Schedule including this lecture.
Goddard Space Flight Center Engineering Colloquium
Date: Monday, September 17, 2001
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.
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.
Colloquium Committee Sponsor: Dave Beyer
Engineering Colloquium home page: https://ecolloq.gsfc.nasa.gov