Associate Professor of Anthropology, Binghamton University, State University of New York Rolf Quam is a paleoanthropologist whose research focuses on evolutionary aspects of the temporal bone, mandible and teeth in our fossil human ancestors. In particular he has been actively involved in reconstructing the hearing capacities in fossil humans. This marks the first time that an aspect of sensory perception has been reconstructed in our fossil human ancestors, and this line of research represents a new approach to one of the oldest questions in human evolutionary studies: the emergence of language. He also participates in the ongoing fieldwork being carried out at the Pleistocene locality of Atapuerca in northern Spain. These sites contain some of the richest human fossil bearing deposits in the world and have recently yielded the oldest human fossil ever found in Europe. During the course of his research, he has personally studied a wide diversity of original human fossils from Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Visiting Scholar, Social Science Environmental Health Research Institute, Northeastern University, Northeastern University Rudel’s research has been conducted in collaboration with co-investigators at Harvard University, Brown University, Tufts University, University of California, Berkeley, University of Florida, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. She has an appointment as a Research Associate in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Brown and is currently serving on the US EPA’s Scientific Advisory Committee on Chemicals for TSCA. Rudel leads the Silent Spring Institute’s exposure and toxicology research programs focusing on endocrine active chemicals and on mechanisms by which chemicals may influence breast cancer risk. Her work in toxicology includes a review of early life exposure to chemicals that alter mammary gland development and implications for testing protocols and risk assessment, published in Environmental Health Perspectives. She also directed a major review of animal mammary gland carcinogens—published in Cancer in 2007—that compiled existing research on these carcinogens, reviewed key issues in study design and animal models, and synthesized information on exposure opportunities. Building on these findings, her 2014 review in Environmental Health Perspectives identifies methods for detecting metabolites of 100 prevalent mammary carcinogens, for use in biomonitoring and in breast cancer cohort studies. She has published on toxicology and risk assessment for metals, indoor air pollutants, and endocrine disruptors. Rudel earned her B.A. in chemistry and neuroscience from Oberlin College, and an M.S. in environmental management and policy from Tufts.
Adjunct Assistant Professor of Environmental Health, Boston University Robin Dodson is a research scientist with expertise in exposure assessment, particularly in the indoor environment. Her research focuses on three main areas: development of novel exposure measurements for epidemiological and community-based studies, analysis of environmental exposure data with a particular emphasis on semi-volatile organic compounds such as phthalates and flame retardant chemicals, and intervention studies aimed at reducing chemical exposures. Dr. Dodson oversees the Institute’s consumer product exposure research. She was the lead author on a landmark peer-reviewed study on endocrine disrupting and asthma-associated chemicals in more than 200 consumer products. As part of the Centers for Disease Control’s Green Housing study, she is currently investigating exposure in children with asthma to chemicals in consumer products and building materials. She leads Silent Spring’s Healthy Green Campus project, a research effort aimed at making health an integral part of sustainability practices on college campuses. Dr. Dodson completed her doctorate in environmental health at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. For her graduate work, she designed and conducted an exposure study in the Boston area focusing on residential and personal exposures to volatile organic compounds. She developed models to evaluate the transport of pollutants in the indoor environment and determine the contribution of various microenvironments to personal exposures. In addition, she evaluated methods for using existing residential exposure data to model residential exposures in the general population. As a graduate student, she contributed to two studies focusing on asthma in lower-socioeconomic-status urban residences in the Boston area. Dr. Dodson is an adjunct assistant professor of environmental health at Boston University School of Public Health and also holds an appointment as a visiting scientist at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. She previously taught biostatistics at Brandeis University for eight years. Prior to her graduate work, Dr. Dodson worked at Menzie-Cura and Associates, where she contributed to both human and ecological risk assessments. In addition to her doctorate, Dr. Dodson holds a bachelor’s in environmental studies from Bates College, where she was inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa Academic Honor Society, and a master’s in environmental science and risk management from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Dr. Dodson’s interest in studying air pollution began in sixth grade when she first learned about the depleting effects of chlorofluorocarbons on the ozone layer. Today, she has dedicated her career to improving public health through her applied research, and hopes to inspire a new generation of young girls to become “future scientists.”
Swinburne University of Technology I am an Associate Professor of Chemistry. I am expert in materials characterisation. My work spans understanding electrolyser systems for commodity chemical manufacture through to the development of cheap accessible sensors for building materials.
Professor of Natural Sciences, Bowdoin College Professor Rachel Beane of Bowdoin College holds an endowed chair as the Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Professor of Natural Sciences in the Department of Earth and Oceanographic Science and has been honored with the Bowdoin College Sydney B. Karofsky teaching prize for her “ability to impart knowledge, inspire enthusiasm, and stimulate intellectual curiosity.” She is also the recipient of the National Association of Geoscience Teachers (NAGT) Neil Miner teaching award for “exceptional contributions to the stimulation of interest in the Earth Sciences.” Prof. Beane is a geologist who interprets processes that have shaped our Earth. She has conducted mineral, volcanic, and tectonic research in New Zealand, Russia, Kazakhstan, Greece, western U.S., and Maine, with grant funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and Bowdoin. Her approach is to use mineral compositions and textures to interpret solid earth processes using a combination of methods including field work, light microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy (EBSD, CL, EDS, and BSE). She is a fellow of the Geological Society of America. Prof. Beane served as the college’s associate dean for Academic Affairs (2016-20) focusing on faculty development and mentoring. She co-developed and led workshops for faculty search committees with an aim to mitigate bias and broaden faculty diversity. She led a committee that designed mentoring structures to enhance faculty support. She guided the college’s departments and programs to develop learning goals and co-chaired the educational effectiveness standard for the college’s reaccreditation. She also served as Acting Director of the Baldwin Center for Learning and Teaching. She currently chairs Bowdoin's Council of Mentors. She leads national professional development workshops for science educators through the National Association of Geoscience Teachers and On the Cutting Edge, an NSF funded project focusing on geoscience faculty development. She was the lead convener for the annual Workshop for Early Career Geoscience Faculty: Teaching, Research, and Managing Your Career – a five-day workshop for 70 faculty from institutions across the U.S. emphasizing strategic planning and a holistic approach to career development. More recently she has led workshops on "Building Strong Departments" and "Supporting the Success of All Students."
Research Fellow, Institute of Development Studies Rachel is a development economist with over 20 years of experience working in areas of rural livelihoods, poverty analysis, migration, and social protection. She has been a Research Fellow at IDS since 2001 and is a founder and Director of the Centre for Social Protection. Her work has been published in top-level journals and is cited widely. Over the last 12 years Rachel has been responsible for managing teams within IDS as well as multiple large-scale, multi-country research programmes and projects, many of which explore understandings of risk and vulnerability both conceptually and empirically. These have included the Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP), Ethiopia; the Hunger Safety Net Programme (HSNP), Kenya; the Child Support Grant (CSG), South Africa; and a number of studies on home-grown school feeding programmes in Africa. Currently she is co- Director for the Better Assistance in Crises (BASIC) Research Programme, a £10 million FCDO initiative to develop new thinking and practical approaches for how to strengthen social assistance in contexts of protracted displacement, conflict and recurring climate shocks.
