2010 Distinguished Lecturer: Dr. Rita Colwell
- Distinguished Professor, University of Maryland College Park and Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health
- Chairman, Canon US Life Sciences, Inc.
- Winner 2010 Stockholm Water Prize
- 11th Director of the National Science Foundation, 1998-2004
- USC Women in Science and Engineering
- 1042 Downey Way, DRB 140*
- Los Angeles, CA 90089-1111
- (213) 740-0996
- (213) 821-5252
- wiseprog@usc.edu
*The WiSE Suite is located in DRB 232.
WiSE Distinguished Lecturer for 2010-2011
POSTPONED: Rescheduled Date TBA
“Climate, Oceans, and Human Health: A Global Initiative”
For more information email WiSE at wiseprog@usc.edu
Dr. Rita Colwell is Distinguished Professor at the University of Maryland College Park and on the faculty of Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health. She is also Senior Advisor and Chairperson of Canon US Life Sciences, Inc. and a Member of the Board of Regents of the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies, as well as a Former Director of the National Science Foundation. Dr. Colwell is the winner of the 2010 Stockholm Water Prize for numerous seminal contributions towards solving the world’s water and water-related public health problems. Her interests are focused on global infectious diseases, water, and health, and she 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.
Dr. Colwell served as the 11th Director of the National Science Foundation, 1998-2004. In her capacity as NSF Director, she served as Co-chair of the Committee on Science of the National Science and Technology Council. One of 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.
Dr. Colwell has held many advisory positions in the U.S. Government, nonprofit science policy organizations, and private foundations, as well as in the international scientific research community. She is a nationally-respected scientist and educator, and has authored or co-authored 16 books and more than 700 scientific publications. She produced the award-winning film, Invisible Seas, and has served on editorial boards of numerous scientific journals.
Before going to NSF, Dr. Colwell was President of the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute and Professor of Microbiology and Biotechnology at the University Maryland. She was also a member of the National Science Board from 1984 to 1990.
Dr. Colwell has previously served as Chairman of the Board of Governors of the American Academy of Microbiology and also as President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Washington Academy of Sciences, the American Society for Microbiology, the Sigma Xi National Science Honorary Society, and the International Union of Microbiological Societies. Dr. Colwell is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society.
Dr. Colwell has also been awarded 40 honorary degrees from institutions of higher education, including her Alma Mater, Purdue University. Dr. Colwell is an honorary member of the microbiological societies of the UK, France, Israel, Bangladesh, and the U.S. and has held several honorary professorships, including the University of Queensland, Australia. A geological site in Antarctica, Colwell Massif, has been named in recognition of her work in the polar regions. Born in Beverly, Massachusetts, Dr. Colwell 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.