Distinguished Scientist Seminar Series

A number of distinguished scientists are invited to give lectures and meet with SES students each year. It is an opportunity for students to hear from some of the country’s top practitioners and to find out about their research and current concerns. During the visit of each of these scientists, the SES students are able to question them closely about everything from basic science to environmental problems to the availability of graduate programs.

2024

Sparkle Malone, Yale School of the Environment
Assistant Professor
"Advancing Ecological Understanding Through the Convergence of Machine Learning and Environmental Infrastructure: Understanding Carbon Exchange Rates"
September 27 — 11:30 AM, Speck Auditorium, Rowe Building

Roxanne Beinart, University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography
Associate Professor
"Charting the Symbiosis Seascape: Exploring Variation in Marine Microbial Symbioses"
October 25 — 11:30 AM, Speck Auditorium, Rowe Building

David Keith, University of Chicago, Department of Geophysical Sciences
Professor
"An Introduction to Climate Engineering"
November 15 — 11:30 AM, Speck Auditorium, Rowe Building

2023

2023 Speaker Bios

Osvaldo Sala, Arizona State University
Professor
"Effect of Climate Change in Drylands: Amount and Variability of Precipitation"
September 15 — 11:30 AM, Speck Auditorium, Rowe Building

Susan Natali, Woodwell Climate Research Center
Arctic Program Director, Senior Scientist
"Local to Global Impacts of Permafrost Thaw: Integrating Science into Just and Equitable Climate Policy and "
October 27 — 11:30 AM, Speck Auditorium, Rowe Building

Linta Reji, Princeton University, Department of Geosciences
Postdoctoral Research Associate
"Tracing Microbial Cycling of Climate Active Trace Gases in Wetland and Upland Ecosystems"
November 17 — 11:30 AM, Speck Auditorium, Rowe Building

Kai Bischof, University of Bremen, Germany
Professor
"Seaweed Biology in a Changing Arctic"
December 1 — 11:30 AM, Speck Auditorium, Rowe Building

2022

2022 Speaker Bios

Morris Johnson, USDA Forest Service
Research Fire Ecologist
"Managing Forest Structure and Wildlife Behavior in the Western United States"
September 30 — 3:00 PM, Speck Auditorium, Rowe Building

Ilka C. Feller, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center
Scientist, Emerita Smithsonian Institution
"Mangroves and the Mangrove Finch...A Story from the Galapagos"
October 14 — 3:00 PM, Speck Auditorium, Rowe Building

Timothy Ford, University of Massachusetts, Lowell
Chair, Professor, Associate Director for the Center for Pathogen Research and Training
"Water: Linking Environmental Science with Human Health"
October 21 — 3:00 PM, Speck Auditorium, Rowe Building

Kathleen Weathers, Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies
G. Evelyn Hutchinson Chair of Ecology
"Ecological Puzzles and a Passion for Lakes: How Cyanobacteria, Senors, and Cyberinfrastructure Helped Launch Scientists and Community Members into a 21st Century Experiment"
November 11 — 3:00 PM, Speck Auditorium, Rowe Building

2021

2021 Speaker Bios

Chris Reddy, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute
Senior Scientist, Dept. of Marine Chemistry
“The Role of Science in Extreme Pollution Events”
September 17 — 3:00 PM, Speck Auditorium, Rowe Building

Peter Frumhoff, Union of Concerned Scientists
Chief Climate Scientist
“Solar GeoEngineering Approaches to Cool the Earth: A Dangerous Distraction or an Idea Whose Time has Come?”
October 1 — 3:00 PM, Speck Auditorium, Rowe Building

Lauren Alexander Augustine, National Academies of Sciences & Engineering
Executive Director, Gulf Research Program
“Science and Coastal Resilience and Recovery”
October 15 — 3:00 PM, Speck Auditorium, Rowe Building

Steward Pickett, Cary Institute of Ecosystems Science
Distinguished Scientist
“The Ecology of Segregation as Illustrated by the Work of the Baltimore School of Urban Ecology”
November 5 — 3:00 PM, Speck Auditorium, Rowe Building

2019

2019 Speaker Bios

Michael Pace, University of Virginia
Professor and Chair, Dept. of Environmental Sciences
“Cross Boundary Fluxes, Trophic Cascades, and Ecosystem Stability Explored with Whole Lake Experiments”
September 13 — 3:00 PM, Speck Auditorium, Rowe Building

Serita Frey, University of New Hampshire
Professor, Department of Environmental Sciences
“Going Underground: Unearthing the Role of the Soil Microbiome in a Warmer, Fertilized World”
September 27 — 3:00 PM, Loeb G70 Auditorium

A.J. Pershing, Gulf of Maine Research Institute
Chief Scientific Officer
“Survival Skills for the Anthropocene: What Marine Heatwaves and other Ocean Surprises Can Teach Us About Living in a Warming World”
October 11 — 3:00 PM, Lillie Auditorium

Jennifer Jenkins, ENVIVA LP
Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer
“Modern Bioenergy’s Role in the Global Energy Transition”
October 25th — 3:00 PM, Loeb G70 Auditorium

2018

2018 Speaker Bios

Sarah Das, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Associate Scientist, Dept. of Geology and Geophysics
“Meltdown! Polar Ice Sheets in a Warming World”
September 14 — 3:00 PM, Speck Auditorium

James Fourqurean, Florida International University
Director, Center for Coastal Oceans Research
Professor, Marine Sciences Program
“Seagrasses are disappearing in Bermuda: Is pollution or sea turtle conservation to blame?”
September 21 — 3:00 PM, Speck Auditorium

Pat Glibert, University of Maryland
Professor
Center for Environmental Science, Horn Point
“Eutrophication and harmful algal blooms: the complexities of changing nutrients”
October 19 — 3:00 PM, Loeb G70 Auditorium

Dr. Eric Seabloom, University of Minnesota
Professor
Dept. Ecology, Evolution & Behavior
“Grassland ecosystems and global change: Insights from NutNet, a globally-replicated experiment”
November 9th — 3:00 PM Speck Auditorium