2011 Speakers

2011 Science Speakers

Michele Cash	Michele is a graduate student in the Earth and Space Science Department at UW. She grew up in San Jose, CA and completed her undergraduate studies at Stanford in physics and feminist studies. Michele has always had an interest in space and physics, and she began exploring various research areas in high school where she worked at NASA Ames Research center analyzing asteroid composition. During her undergrad, Michele had the opportunity to work in various physics labs researching topics from the search for dark matter to developing magnetized target fusion for interplanetary space travel, and from extragalactic astrophysics to geophysics field work in Ethiopia. Once at UW, Michele found the perfect research niche for her interests: space physics. In particular, Michele studies space weather, geomagnetic storms, and a region of the inner magnetosphere known as the ring current.
Jonathan Cheng	Jonathan is currently a 3rd year graduate student in the Department of Bioengineering in the lab of Dr. Albert Folch. His interests are in the crossroads of engineering and biology: developing microscopic devices that explore the cellular world. Jonathan imagines a future when ever-smaller man-made technologies can discover, diagnose, and cure diseases. He completed his undergraduate studies at UC Berkeley and Masters studies at UC Irvine in bioengineering. In his leisure time, Jonathan enjoys photography, bicycling, good food, travel, and catching frisbees for the Bioengineering ultimate team, Mudflingers.
Charlotte Christensen	Ever since reading a popular science in high school, Charlotte has been fascinated with using computer programs to model real life. As a PhD student in the University of Washington Astronomy department, she uses computers to simulate galaxy formation and growth. During her time at the UW, she has taught students raging in age from 7 to 23 and given countless planetarium shows. Before moving to the West Coast, Charlotte attended Carleton College in Northfield, MN. When not doing astronomy, Charlotte can be found at work on her knitting, in her garden, or with her nose in a book.
Melissa Clarkson	Melissa’s interests are in designing ways to visually communicate complex scientific information. After completing her undergraduate work in microbiology and biochemistry at Kansas State University, she became interested in finding ways to more clearly communicate scientific knowledge and experimental results. She has earned a masters degree in information design from Carnegie Mellon University, and is currently a graduate student at UW in the Division of Biomedical and Health Informatics.
Michael Hannam	Mike’s love of the natural world was solidified during umpteen Boy Scout camping trips, but can be traced back as far as his pivotal role in the “publication” of an endangered species coloring book in his third grade classroom. He earned his bachelor’s degree in biology at the University of Notre Dame, after which he gained an intimate familiarity with natural vegetation while serving in the US Army. Upon regaining civilianhood, Michael has participated in studies of Prairie Dogs, reintroduction of endangered Black-Footed Ferrets, management of state-owned aquatic lands, and monitoring of critical eelgrass habitats. Currently a Ph.D. student in the College of the Environment, Mike studies how the relationship between a native and an introduced seagrass is affected by their surrounding topography. When he’s not thinking about life between the tides, you might find Mike learning to play fiddle, baking sourdough, brewing beer with his wife Sarah, or planning a mountaineering trip.
Neala Kendall	Neala grew up in eastern Washington state where her interest in fish was stimulated by the “dams vs. salmon” debate. She headed east to Ohio and received her undergraduate degree in biology from Kenyon College, where she swam competitively and studied stream minnows. After a stint doing environmental consulting in California, she returned to studying fish at UW’s School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences. While working on her MS and PhD she spent time in Alaska with some of the largest and most diverse salmon populations in the world, and studied evolutionary ecology and responses of wild populations to selection pressures by humans. When not in Alaska or in front of her computer, Neala likes to swim, jog, be outside, and attempt to grow her own vegetables.
Jens von der Linden	Jens has always been excited about teaching and outreach. During his undergraduate years at the University of Pennsylvania Jens developed physics labs for a Philadelphia high school. Currently, Jens is a graduate student at the Aeronautics & Astronautics Department of the University of Washington. He studies self-organization in plasmas, ionized gases consisting of a large number of charged particles. He enjoys Caribbean culture and food and regularly attends the West Indian Labor Day Parade in New York.
Will Marrs	Will grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, where he developed an early interest in the biological sciences. While attending UCLA as an undergraduate, he recognized that his fascination with biology and his philosophical interest in the nature of the human mind might not be so different after all, and he promptly switched his major to Neuroscience. Now in his 5th year in the Neurobiology and Behavior graduate program at the University of Washington, Will’s research is focused on the development of new therapies for brain disorders. He has always been intrigued by the intersection of science and politics, and he says that his current focus on the medical utility of cannabis provides plenty of overlap between the two.
Andy McMillan	Andy grew up in Colorado where he received a double degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Cellular and Developmental Biology from the University of Colorado. He is now a PhD student with the Biomolecular Structure and Design program, working in the lab of Bill Parson. His research is currently focused on how changes in proteins affect the fluorescence properties. Andy has also been involved with leadership of the Forum on Science Ethics and Policy and has volunteered as a mentor for high school students in the the NWABR Student Biotech Expo. Somehow he also finds time to enjoy the music around Seattle, reading, gaming with friends and escaping into the mountains.
Andrew Sawers	Andrew is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine and is a research assistant at the motion analysis lab at the VA Center of Excellence for Limb Loss Prevention and Prosthetic Engineering. Prior to moving to Seattle to pursue his doctoral degree, Andrew received his Masters degree in Prosthetics and Orthotics from the Georgia Institute of Technology. After graduating he worked as a prosthetist in the Department of Prosthetics and Orthotics at the University of Rochester Medical Center in Rochester NY, evaluating, designing and fitting lower limb prosthetics for individuals with lower limb loss. Andrew’s research efforts are dedicated towards developing motor learning strategies to address issues of efficacy, safety and cognitive demand of locomotor rehabilitation protocols among a variety of patient populations.
Julie Shi	Originally from rural Pennsylvania, Julie decided to venture into the city of Boston and completed her undergraduate studies at MIT in chemical engineering. While doing research in world-renowned labs, she developed an interest in engineering the next-generation therapies to help combat hard-to-cure diseases, such as cancer and Alzheimer’s. Julie is currently a third-year graduate student in bioengineering and her thesis involves developing materials for gene therapy. In her spare time, she enjoys baking and cooking, traveling, and playing video games.
Brian Smoliak	Brian is a graduate student in the UW Department of Atmospheric Sciences. He spent his youth in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis–St.Paul, MN, completed his BSc in Atmospheric Sciences at Creighton University in Omaha, NE, and promptly headed west for Seattle, trading supercell thunderstorms for convergence zones and subzero temperatures for winter windstorms. With a background in both meteorology and climatology, Brian approaches questions of weather and climate with a sense of curiosity about how the atmosphere works and a sense of wonder at the power and beauty it contains.
Wes Smith	Wes has always been captivated by the natural world, but this interest was piqued by increased media coverage of how environmental toxicants and hazardous waste sites are affecting our health. To further educate himself on these issues, he earned a Ph.D. in Pharmacology/Toxicology at the University of Montana. After graduate school, he joined the lab of Dr. David L. Eaton and Dr. Terrance J. Kavanagh at UW to receive additional training in Toxicology and Environmental Health. Outside of the lab, he is actively involved in outreach activities and science education at all levels, from elementary school students to graduate students. His community outreach efforts are focused on the Lower Duwamish Waterway Superfund site.