Former National Science Foundation Director Rita Colwell to speak at Rice March 7

Former National Science Foundation Director Rita Colwell will explore the interaction of climate science and health through a case study of cholera March 7 at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.

RITA COLWELL

Colwell’s Civic Scientist Lecture on “Oceans, Climate and Health: Cholera as a Model of Infectious Diseases in a Changing Environment” will be 6-7:30 p.m. in Baker Hall’s Doré Commons. Her talk will be followed by a reception. Neal Lane, senior fellow in science and technology policy at the Baker Institute and the Malcolm Gillis University Professor at Rice, will give introductory remarks.

Colwell is the president and chairman of College Park, Md.-based CosmosID Inc. as well as a distinguished professor at the University of Maryland and an adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. From 1998 to 2004 she served as director of the National Science Foundation, where she spearheaded the agency’s emphases in K-12 science and mathematics education, graduate science and engineering education/training and the increased participation of women and minorities in science and engineering.

In 2010, Colwell was selected by the U.S. State Department as a science envoy. One of six individuals chosen, Colwell traveled to Bangladesh, Malaysia and Vietnam and helped increase opportunities for scientific partnerships that would address global challenges, including water safety and public health.

The Civic Scientist Lectures are presented by leading scientists and engineers from around the world who have impacted public policy. The goal of the series is to expose scientists and future scientists to the notion that their roles extend beyond the laboratory. The lectures also give the Houston community an opportunity to hear leading scientists discuss their fields and careers as they promote science and technology as a public good worthy of federal, state and local funding. The program is managed by the Baker Institute’s Science and Technology Policy Program. For more information on the lectures and program, visit http://science.bakerinstitute.org.

This event is also part of the Shell Distinguished Lecture Series and is co-hosted by the Baker Institute Science and Technology Policy Program and Rice’s Wiess School of Natural Sciences and the George R. Brown School of Engineering. Additional support for this event was provided by the JWC/JKH Family Foundation and its president, Janice Hartrick.

To view the complete event information, visit www.bakerinstitute.org/events/civic-scientist-lecture-series-rita-colwell. A live webcast will be available at http://bakerinstitute.org/webcasts.