Dieuwertje Kast is the STEM Programs Manager for the University of Southern California’s (USC) Joint Educational Project. She has provided STEM instruction to over 23,000 underrepresented minority students, 600 educators, 20 school principals, and countless community members. She coordinates supplemental science lessons for K-5 across a gamut of schools through the Wonderkids and Young Scientists…

Professor Helen Fricker is a glaciologist studying ice loss processes of the Antarctic Ice Sheet using satellite data.  She grew up in the UK, and obtained her undergraduate degree at University College London (Maths and Physics). Inspired by Chris Rapley (CBE) and Seymour Laxon at UCL, Dr. Fricker become interested Antarctic science and satellite remote…

Dr. Beth A. Johnson is a professor of Geology at the University of Wisconsin-Fox Valley in Menasha, WI. She is a Quaternary Geologist interested in the glacial history and landforms of the Upper Midwest. She earned her Ph.D. at Northern Illinois University. Her doctoral dissertation was about the extent of slackwater sediments in the Savanna…

Aish Raman, originally from India, is a Senior Research Scientist working at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Global Modeling Assimilation Office (GSFC/GMAO) on aerosol modeling and analysis, as a contractor with Science Systems and Applications, Inc. At GSFC, her research focuses on aerosol modeling and analysis. She graduated from University of Arizona with a Ph.D…

Dr. Adriana Martinez is a fluvial geomorphologist whose research focuses on human impacts on river systems using field work and Geographic Information Systems (GIS).  She is currently investigating the social and environmental impacts of the U.S. Mexico Border fence, including its effect on border communities and flooding. Approximately 5 km of fence was built between her…

Dr. Diana Dalbotten works for the St. Anthony Falls Laboratory, University of Minnesota as the director of Diversity and Broader Impacts.  The focus of her work has been on broadening participation of underrepresented students, and particularly Native Americans in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics fields.  She collaborates with tribes in Minnesota and nationally to advance…

Dr. Dena Smith’s research program has focused on understanding the evolutionary and ecological history of insects.  She uses the fossil record to study processes of fossilization, insect response to climate change, the co-evolutionary relationships between insects and plants and shifts in insect biodiversity patterns through geologic time. This work has allowed her to work at very…

Dr. Britta Voss is an aquatic biogeochemist whose research focuses on chemical and biological transformation of carbon in river systems. Her interest in the interactions of water, rocks, and life began during her undergraduate studies in chemical oceanography, where she had the opportunity to participate in research cruises from coastal zones of the Pacific Northwest…

Dr. Jane Zelikova is an ecosystem scientist focusing on understanding the impacts of climate change on ecological processes, from how organisms and plants respond, to how carbon and nitrogen cycles are changing. She works in tropical and temperate ecosystems, driven by questions rather than particular study systems. These days, she is transitioning from addressing fundamental…

Dr. Alexandra (Alix) Krull Davatzes is a Precambrian and Planetary geologist, specializing in impact processes, sedimentology, and geoscience education. Alix is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Temple University in Philadelphia. Alix earned her BA in Geology from Pomona College, where she got her first taste of research in…