 | Rita Colwell |
Rita Colwell, former director of the National Science Foundation (NSF), is currently in residence at Yale as the first Edward P. Bass Distinguished Visiting Environmental Scholar at the Yale Institute for Biospheric Studies (YIBS).
Colwell, whose term at Yale began Jan. 21 and will continue through April 30, is currently chair at Canon US Life Sciences Inc. and Distinguished University Professor both at the University of Maryland at College Park and at Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health.
As the 11th director of the NSF 1998-2004, Colwell co-chaired the Committee on Science of the National Science and Technology Council. Her major interests include K-12 science and mathematics education, graduate science and engineering education, and the increased participation of women and minorities in science and engineering.
She is also interested in global infectious diseases, water and health, and is currently developing an international network to address emerging infectious diseases and water issues, including safe drinking water for both the developed and developing world.
Colwell bridged the disciplines of environmental science and medical epidemiology through her landmark discovery of the role of marine plankton as natural reservoirs of Vibrio cholerae, the agent of epidemic cholera. She has tracked the global distribution of cholera and associated outbreaks with climatic events that influence sea surface temperature and plankton blooms, and coupled fieldwork with the power of remote sensing.
"Her investigations were among the first to demonstrate the application of remote sensing technologies to epidemiology," notes YIBS director Derek Briggs. "This rapidly developing field of study is being pursued at Yale through the YIBS Center for Earth Observation."
Colwell's appointment as the Bass Visiting Scholar has generated "great interest" on campus among departments as diverse as ecology and evolutionary biology, engineering, epidemiology and public health, and geology and geophysics, notes Briggs. "Her visit will also assist the effort to further interdisciplinary ties between medical epidemiology and environmental science at Yale."
During her time here, Colwell will give seminars, interact with students and research groups, and participate in the life of several academic departments.
For information on contacting Colwell, call the YIBS office at (203) 432-9857.
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