Visiting Researcher Wits School of Public Health, University of the Witwatersrand I currently hold a Visiting Researcher position at the School of Public Health, University of the Witwatersrand (Wits). I am also a Director of the Sarraounia Public Health Trust, a non-profit research consultancy. Between 1995 and 2005 I held Lecturer positions first at the Department of Sociology, UKZN and and then Wits. I left the academy to consult in the areas of health and development, which I continue to date. From 2015-2019 I completed a PhD in Public Health at Wits and continue to work at the intersection of research and it's translation into policy and practice. As a visiting researcher, I supervise Masters and PhD students, teach, collaborate and offer other academic support at the Department of Sociology and the School of Public Health, Wits.
Professor of Sociology and Director of the Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Dr. Guzzo received her PhD in Sociology in 2003 from UNC Chapel hill, followed by postdoctoral work at the University of Pennsylvania. After holding faculty positions at other universities, Dr. Guzzo returned to UNC Chapel Hill in 2022 to join the Sociology faculty and serve as Director of the Carolina Population Center.
Professor of Sociology; Director, Institute for Population Research, The Ohio State University I study family formation, childbearing, and reproductive health. I am particularly interested in how people make decisions about having children and who is able to carry out their plans. My research has been funded by internal university grants, private foundations, and the National Institutes of Health.
Professor of Political Science, Drake University Mary M. McCarthy, Professor of Political Science, teaches numerous regional courses on the politics and international relations of Japan, China, and East Asia, as well as topical courses in world and comparative politics. She received her B.A. in East Asian studies and her Ph.D. in political science from Columbia University. Dr. McCarthy specializes in Japan’s domestic and foreign policies. She has published on topics including the Japanese media, and cooperation and conflict between Japan and China in the East China Sea. Her current research examines the historical legacies of the Asia-Pacific War on Japan-U.S., Japan-China, and Japan-Korea relations. She is also a Mansfield Foundation U.S.-Japan Network for the Future Scholar. Besides her teaching and research, Dr. McCarthy enjoys mentoring students to help them to have the most enriching experience both at Drake and beyond. In this capacity, she advises students on post-graduate opportunities in Asia, including teaching English in Japan through the prestigious Japan Exchange and Teaching Program (JET).
University Distinguished Professor of Astronomy, University of Arizona Chris Impey is a University Distinguished Professor of Astronomy at the University of Arizona. He has over 180 refereed publications on observational cosmology, galaxies, and quasars, and his research has been supported by $20 million in NASA and NSF grants. He has won eleven teaching awards, and has taught three massive open online classes with over 180,000 enrolled. Impey is a past Vice President of the American Astronomical Society and he has been an NSF Distinguished Teaching Scholar, Carnegie Council’s Arizona Professor of the Year, and most recently, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Professor. He’s written over 70 popular articles on cosmology and astrobiology, two introductory textbooks, a novel called Shadow World, and eight popular science books: The Living Cosmos, How It Ends, Talking About Life, How It Began, Dreams of Other Worlds, Humble Before the Void, Beyond: The Future of Space Travel, and Einstein’s Monsters: The Life and Times of Black Holes.
Assistant Professor of Public Administration, University of Nebraska Omaha Nuri Heckler, J.D., Ph.D. focuses his research on power in public organizations including nonprofits, social enterprise, and government. Using experimental, qualitative, historical, and legal research methods, he examines the mechanisms that reinforce inequities and inefficiencies in public organizations. As a Maryland barred attorney, his research also examines the role law plays in the work of public administrators. His research can be found in Administrative Theory & Praxis, Journal of Public Administration Research & Theory, Administration & Society, Journal of Public Affairs Education, Urban Affairs Review, and Public Integrity among others. He is an avid commuter cyclist who spends his free time with his two children and baking award-winning cookies.
