Speaker Biographies

PATRICIA HUNT, Ph.D., is Meyer Distinguished Professor in the School of Molecular Biosciences at Washington State University. Her research focuses on germ cells in mammals. In humans, the incidence of pregnancy loss due to chromosome abnormalities is very high. She is trying to understand how this occurs, and the way in which a woman's aging increases the likelihood of errors. In addition, an accidental exposure in her animal facility has led to a new avenue of research. Mice were exposed to an estrogen mimic, bisphenol A, in cages and water bottles. Hunt and her colleagues found that the exposure could disrupt the reproductive process. Current studies focus on determining the reproductive effects of exposure to chemicals with estrogen-like activity during different developmental time points.

(http://www.crb.wsu.edu/3FacultyPages/Hunt.html, 509-335-4954)

LISA JONES-ENGEL, Ph.D., is a Research Scientist in the Division of International Programs of the Washington National Primate Research Center, at the University of Washington. She studies viruses that can jump between humans and monkeys. HIV is one example of a virus associated with human and monkey contact in Africa. And there are others, many of which can be detrimental to both monkeys and humans. She made a key breakthrough in 2005 when she and her husband, Dr. Gregory Engel, identified the first reported case of primate-to-human transmission of simian foamy virus (SFV) in Asia. Most of her research has been done in Asia, where much less is known about monkey viruses and human-monkey interactions. Her team examines primates and people in temples, zoos, markets, nature preserves, and homes where monkeys are kept as pets. Jones-Engel began her career at the age of 17 as a field assistant to Birute Galdikas. (jonesengel@bart.rprc.washington.edu, 206-221-6843)

MATT KAEBERLEIN, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in the Department of Pathology at the University of Washington, and a native of Seattle, completed his Ph.D. in the laboratory of Leonard Guarente at M.I.T., where he first became interested in the basic biology of aging. As a graduate student, he discovered the key role of Sir2 as a regulator of aging in yeast. Until 2003, Dr. Kaeberlein was vice-president of research at Longevity Inc., where he developed technologies to identify biomarkers of aging and age-associated disease. At the University of Washington, he is working to identify the genes that determine longevity, and on translating that knowledge into therapies for age-related illnesses. (kaeber@u.washington.edu, http://www.kaeberleinlab.org, 206-543-4849)

TRACY KENNEDY is a Research Consultant in virtual and physical worlds, and a Ph.D. candidate in sociology at the University of Toronto. Her doctoral thesis examines the integration of the Internet into Canadian households. She has organized several virtual world events, such as the 2007 Second Life Conference for the Communication & Information Technology section of the American Sociology Association and a blended reality event at Vancouver's Centre for Digital Media in British Columbia that featured an Open House in both worlds. Tracy recently returned from an internship with Microsoft in Redmond, Washington where she worked with the Community Technologies Group and Games User Research Group to examine women's online gaming experiences on Xbox Live, and the issues the industry faces in attracting non-traditional gamers. (tkennedy@netwomen.ca, http://www.netwomen.ca, 425-705- 1403)

PATRICIA KUHL, Ph.D., is a Professor of Speech and Hearing Sciences at the University of Washington, and Co-director of its Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences and its NSF Science of Learning Center. Her work has played a major role in demonstrating how early exposure to language alters the brain. It has implications for development, for bilingual education and reading readiness, for developmental disabilities involving language, and for research on computer understanding of speech. She was one of six scientists invited to the White House in 1997 to make a presentation at a Clinton conference on early learning and the brain. In 2001, she was invited to make a presentation at a Bush White House Summit called Early Cognitive Development: Ready to Read, Ready to Learn. She is co-author of The Scientist in the Crib: Minds, Brains, and How Children Learn (Morrow Press). (pkkuhl@u.washington.edu, 206-685-1921)

BENOIT MANDELBROT, Ph.D. originated fractal geometry a geometry of roughness in mathematics, in nature, and in culture. After receiving his Ph.D. from the University of Paris, he came to the United States, where he was sponsored by John von Neumann at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. In 1958, he began a 35-year relationship with IBM as an IBM Fellow in Yorktown Heights, N.Y. He then moved to Yale University as Sterling Professor of Mathematical Sciences, and until recently he was affiliated with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. He has received numerous honors and awards. This is his second appearance at New Horizons in Science. (benoit.mandelbrot@yale.edu, 617-620-6598)

PETE MCGRAIL, Ph.D. has been at PNNL for more than 24 years and now holds the position of Laboratory Fellow, the highest level of scientific achievement at the lab. He is the chief scientist at PNNL responsible for carbon management technologies, which cover all aspects of the science and technology of carbon capture and subsurface sequestration. McGrail manages several projects related to geological sequestration, including a basalt field pilot study, basic science studies related to geological sequestration, and projects on gas and oil production. (Pete.McGrail@pnl.gov, 509-371-7077)

JAAK PANKSEPP, Ph.D., Baily Endowed Chair for Animal Well-Being Science at the College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University, is a recognized authority on the emotions in mammals, focusing particularly on sadness and joy. He is now using genetic techniques and brain imaging to refine the understanding of animals' emotions biologically, and exploring the consequences of this work for better understanding of human mental health. (jpanksepp@vetmed.wsu.edu, 509-335-5803)

CAROLYN PORCO, Ph.D., is the Leader of the Cassini Imaging Team and the Director of the Cassini Imaging Central Laboratory for Operations (or CICLOPS) in Boulder, CO, which is the hub of the uplink and downlink operations of the Cassini imaging experiment. She is also an Adjunct Professor at the University of Colorado in Boulder. (carolyn@ciclops.org, 720-974-5849)

ROY F. SCHWITTERS, Ph.D., an experimental high-energy physicist, is the S.W. Richardson Regental Professor of Physics at the University of Texas at Austin. He was the director of the Superconducting Supercollider laboratory in Dallas from 1989 until 1993, when it was canceled by Congress. Since 1996, he has been a member of JASON, a group of academic scientists and engineers who advise agencies of the US government on technical matters related to national security. He is currently chair of the JASON steering committee. He received his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Before coming to Texas he was at Harvard University and the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center. (schwitters@physics.utexas.edu, 512-471-9962)

SAMUEL WASSER, Ph.D., holder of the Endowed Chair in Conservation Biology at the University of Washington, is an acknowledged pioneer of non-invasive wildlife monitoring methods. He has worked with conservation programs in Africa and North America, in collaboration with state, federal, and international organizations. He was coordinator of the Smithsonian Institution's Wildlife Conservation and Management Training Program for African Nationals. He is a co-editor of Biogeography and Ecology of the Rain Forests of Eastern Africa. (wassers@u.washington.edu, 206-543-1669)