Appendix B
Biographical Sketches of Committee Members and Staff
CATHERINE SNOW (Chair) is Patricia Albjerg Graham professor of education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Her work has been devoted to language and literacy development in children, focusing on how oral language skills are acquired and how they relate to literacy outcomes. Her research activities include a longitudinal study of language and literacy skills among low-income children who have been followed for 15 years since age 3; following the language development of young children participating in the Early Head Start intervention; studying the vocabulary development of first- and second-language learners; and considering aspects of transfer from first to second language in the domains of language and literacy. She has also been involved in work to develop consensus among teacher educators about what pre- and in-service elementary teachers need to know about language and literacy, as well as bilingualism and its relation to language policy issues. She is currently involved in efforts to improve middle-school literacy outcomes in partnership with the Boston Public Schools. She has a B.A. from Oberlin College in psychology and an M.A. and a Ph. D. in psychology from McGill University.
NICK ALLUM is professor of sociology at the University of Essex, where he directs the masters in science program in survey methods. His research encompasses survey methodology, public understanding of science, social and political trust, and risk perception. He currently serves as the general secretary for the European Survey Research Association, and previously served on the National Science Foundation’s expert panel on science literacy indicators. He has previously also worked as a statistical consultant for the Pew Research Center, as
well as performing survey design work for the United Kingdom’s Department of Media Culture and Sport. He has a B.A. in political economy from the University of East London, an M.Sc. in social research methods from the London School of Economics, and a Ph.D. in social psychology at the London School of Economics.
EMILY BACKES (Research Associate) works mostly with the Committee on Law and Justice in the Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education, providing substantive analysis, writing, and editing for studies on juvenile justice, forensic science, illicit markets, and policing. Previously, she worked with the Committee on Human Rights of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, where she was responsible for researching cases of unjustly imprisoned scientists worldwide and synthesizing scholarship on science and human rights issues. She has a B.A. and an M.A. in history from the University of Missouri, and she is pursuing a J.D. at the David A. Clarke School of Law of the University of the District of Columbia.
JOHN BESLEY is an associate professor and Ellis N. Brand chair in the Department of Advertising and Public Relations at the College of Communication Arts and Sciences at Michigan State University. He studies how views about decision makers and decision processes affect perceptions of science and technology with potential health or environmental effects, including consideration of both mediated exposure through newspapers, television programs, and web content and public engagement exercises (e.g., public meetings). His work explores the relationships between media use, public engagement, and health and environmental risk perceptions. His research has touched on public perceptions of nanotechnology, biotechnology, and energy technologies (particularly nuclear and hydrogen and fuel cell technologies). He has also been involved in research into journalistic norms related to coverage of public engagement and research to better understand the effects of science and risk communication training. He has a B.A. in journalism and an M.A. in public administration (innovation, science, and environment policy) from Carleton University in Canada and a Ph.D. in communications from Cornell University.
DOMINIQUE BROSSARD is professor and chair in the Department of Life Sciences Communication at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and is also affiliated with the university’s Holtz Center of Science and Technology Studies and the Morgridge Institute for Research in the Center for Global Studies. She is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a former board member of the International Network of Public Communication of Science and Technology. Her work focuses on questions related to public understanding of science, with a specific emphasis on public opinion dynamics related to controversial scientific issues. She teaches courses in strategic commu-
nication theory and research, with a focus on science and risk communication. Previously, she held positions at Accenture in its Change Management Services Division and as the communication coordinator for the Agricultural Biotechnology Support Project II. She has an M.S. in plant biotechnology from the Ecole Nationale d’Agronomie de Toulouse and an M.P.S and a Ph.D. in communication from Cornell University.
KENNE DIBNER (Study Director) is a program officer with the Board on Science Education. Prior to this position, Kenne worked as a research associate at Policy Studies Associates, Inc., where she conducted evaluations of education policies and programs for government agencies, foundations, and school districts. Most recently, she concluded an evaluation of a partnership with the U.S. Department of Education, the National Park Service, and the Bureau of Indian Education to provide citizen science programming to tribal youth. Previously, she worked as a research consultant with the Center on Education Policy and served as a legal intern for the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Education and the Workforce. She has a B.A in English literature from Skidmore College and a Ph.D. in education policy from Michigan State University.
NOAH WEETH FEINSTEIN is associate professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction in the School of Education at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. His work explores the value of science in the social and political lives of nonscientists, including identifying and investigating the social mechanisms through which scientific institutions and practices can make societies more, rather than less, democratic. His current projects focus on public engagement with science among parents of recently diagnosed autistic children, the contribution of learning to climate change adaptation, the impact of changing scientific practices on scientists’ outreach, and the need for museums and science centers to forge better connections with their diverse communities. He has a B.A. in biological sciences from Harvard University, an M.S. in biological sciences and neural development, and a Ph.D. in science education from Stanford University.
S. JAMES GATES, Jr., is a university system regents professor, the John S. Toll professor of physics, and director of the Center for String and Particle Theory, all at the University of Maryland. His work has long been in the fields of supersymmetry, supergravity, and string theory. He serves on the U.S. President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, and on the Maryland Board of Education. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society. He is a fellow of the American Physics Society, American Association for the Advancement of Science, National Society of Black Physicists, and British Institute of Physics and a member of the board of trustees of the Society for Science & the
Public and the board of advisors for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Fermi National Laboratory. He is a recipient of the Medal of Science, the highest recognition given by the U.S. government to scientists for his contribution to the mathematics of supersymmetry in particle, field, and string theories and his extraordinary efforts to engage the public on fundamental physics. He has B.S. degrees in mathematics and in physics and a Ph.D. in physics, all from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
LOUIS GOMEZ holds the MacArthur chair in digital media and learning in the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is also a senior partner at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, where he leads the Network Development work. Previously, he held positions at Northwestern University and at the University of Pittsburgh, where he directed the Center for Urban Education and was a senior scientist at the Learning Research and Development Center. Prior to joining academia, he worked in cognitive science and person–computer systems and interactions at Bell Laboratories, Bell Communications Research, Inc., and Bellcore. His research interests have encompassed the application of computing and networking technology to teaching and learning, applied cognitive science, human–computer interactions, and other areas. He is a member of the National Academy of Education. He has a B.A. in psychology from the State University of New York at Stony Brook and a Psy.D. in cognitive psychology from the University of California, Berkeley.
ALEXA MCCRAY is professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. She conducts research on knowledge representation and discovery, with a special focus on the significant “Tower of Babel” problems that persist in the curation, dissemination, and exchange of scientific and clinical information in biomedicine and health. Previously, she was director of the Lister Hill National Center for Biomedical Communications, a research division of the National Library of Medicine at the National Institutes of Health; on the research staff of IBM’s T.J. Watson Research Center; and on the faculty of Harvard Medical School. She is a member of the National Academy of Medicine. She is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a fellow of the American College of Medical Informatics (ACMI). She is the immediate past president of ACMI and is a past member of the board of both the American Medical Informatics Association and the International Medical Informatics Association. She has a B.A. in modern languages from Skidmore College, an M.A. in German literature and language from Boston College, an M.S. in linguistics from Georgetown University, and a Ph.D. in linguistics from Georgetown University.
JANET OHENE-FREMPONG is president of J O Frempong & Associates, Inc., which provides a range of communication services, including consumer
research, materials and forms development, program development, presentations, seminars and institution-based coaching in consumer health communications. Formerly, she was director of the Health Literacy Project at the Health Promotion Council of Southeastern Pennsylvania, and she has conducted workshops and provided consultation on plain language and cross-cultural communication for a wide range of health information providers, including health care systems, government agencies, health insurers, pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies, medical publishers, health and human service agencies as well as schools of medicine, nursing and allied health. She has served on a number of national boards and advisories, is a founding and emerita member of the Clear Language Group and is an Institute for Healthcare Advancement Strategic Partner. She has a B.A. in political science from Cornell University and an M.S. in public health nutrition from Columbia University Teachers College.
JONATHAN OSBORNE holds the Kamalachari chair in science education at the Graduate School of Education at Stanford University. Previously, he held the chair in science education at King’s College London, and he served as an advisor to the U.K. House of Commons Science and Technology Committee for its report on science education. Currently he chairs the expert group that produced the framework for the science assessments conducted by the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment. His research interests are in the role of argumentation in science and improving the teaching of literacy in science. He has a B.Sc. in physics from Bristol University, a postgraduate certificate in education from Cambridge University, a master’s degree in astrophysics from Queen Mary College at the University of London, and a Ph.D. in education from King’s College at the University of London.
JULIE ANNE SCHUCK (Associate Program Officer) has provided analytical, administrative, writing, and editorial support for a wide range of studies in the Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education, mostly for the Committee on Law and Justice. In addition to her work on this study, her recent projects have included studies of the science of human-system integration; science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education; incarceration in the United States; reforming juvenile justice; understanding the U.S. illicit tobacco market; strengthening the National Institute of Justice; and support for forensic science research. She has an M.S. in education from Cornell University and a B.S. in engineering physics from the University of California, San Diego.
HEIDI SCHWEINGRUBER (Senior Research Associate) is the director of the Board on Science Education at the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine. She has served as study director or co-study director for a wide range of studies, including those on revising national standards for K-12 science education, learning and teaching science in grades K-8, and mathemat-
ics learning in early childhood. She also coauthored two award-winning books for practitioners that translate findings of Academies’ reports for a broader audience, on using research in K-8 science classrooms and on information science education. Prior to joining the Academies, she worked as a senior research associate at the Institute of Education Sciences in the U.S. Department of Education. She also previously served on the faculty of Rice University and as the director of research for the Rice University School Mathematics Project, an outreach program in K-12 mathematics education. She has a Ph.D. in psychology (developmental) and anthropology and a certificate in culture and cognition, both from the University of Michigan.
EUGENIE C. SCOTT was the founding executive director of the National Center for Science Education (NCSE) and now serves on NCSE’s advisory council. She has long been both a researcher and an activist in the controversy about creationism and evolution and addressed many aspects—educational, legal, scientific, religious, and social—of the controversy. She has received national recognition for her NCSE activities, including awards from scientific societies, educational societies, skeptics groups, and humanist groups. She holds nine honorary degrees and is the recipient of the National Academy of Sciences’ Public Welfare Medal. She has a B.S. and an M.S. in physical anthropology from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee and a Ph.D. in physical anthropology from the University of Missouri.
EARNESTINE WILLIS is a Kellner professor in pediatrics, director of the Center for the Advancement of Underserved Children in the Department of Pediatrics, and holds an appointment in the Institute of Health & Society, all at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Previously, she served as director of a Federally Qualified Look-A-Like Health Center at the University of Chicago and as chair of the State of Wisconsin Tobacco Control and Prevention Board. Her work has focused on documenting and advocating the social and health needs of children in underserved neighborhoods, and she has also led numerous successful initiatives for school-based health services; avoiding adverse birth outcomes through a community-based life course perspective; early literacy promotion; oral health improvement; child advocacy; emergency preparedness; and supporting lactation in the workplace for women returning to work. She received an honorary Ph.D. from Cardinal Stritch University and the Community Impact Award from the Medical Society of Milwaukee County. She has a B.S. from Tougaloo College, an M.D. from Harvard Medical School, and an M.P.H. from Harvard School of Public Health.
