"Oceans, Climate, and Human Health: The Cholera Paradigm"

(In collaboration with the Montana-Ecology of Infectious Diseases Program)

8:00 PM Monday, April 14, 2008
University Theatre

A renowned authority on marine science and a former director of the National Science Foundation, Dr. Colwell produced the award-winning film, Invisible Seas. She is one of the world’s foremost scientific experts on emerging infectious diseases in the waters of both the developed and the developing worlds. Her lecture will deal with the most authoritative research on these threatening issues.

"Infectious Diseases, Climate, and the Environment"

Faculty-Student Seminar (in conjunction with the Philosophy Forum)

3:10 PM Monday, April 14, 2008
Gallagher Business Building 123

You are cordially invited to attend a seminar with Rita Colwell, who 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. Her research interests concern global infectious diseases, water, and health. She has held numerous advisory positions in the U.S. Government, nonprofit science policy organizations, and private foundations, as well as in the international scientific research community. The author or co-author of sixteen books and more than seven hundred research publications overall, she produced the award-winning film, Invisible Seas. Her books include The Global Challenge of Marine Biotechnology: A Report on the United States, Japan, Australia, and Norway (1995) and Oceans and Health: Pathogens in the Marine Environment (2005). She has served on the editorial boards of numerous scientific journals. In 1998, she became the Director of the National Science Foundation and remained in that position until 2004. In her capacity as NSF Director, she co-chaired the Committee on Science of the National Science and Technology Council. On this committee, she assiduously promoted K-12 science and mathematics education, graduate science and engineering education, and the increased participation of women and minorities in science and engineering. Before going to NSF, she served as the President of the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute and Professor of Microbiology and Biotechnology at the University of Maryland. She also was a member of the National Science Board from 1984 to 1990. She has been awarded forty-eight honorary degrees from institutions of higher learning and is the recipient of the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star, bestowed by the Emperor of Japan. She has held honorary professorships all over the world. A geological site in Antarctica, Colwell Massif, has been named in recognition of her work in the polar regions. She currently is developing an international network to address emerging infectious diseases and water issues, including safe drinking water for both the developed and developing world. In addition, Dr. Colwell will present a lecture that evening at 8:00 P.M. in the University Theatre entitled “Oceans, Climate, and Human Health: The Cholera Paradigm.”