Issues and Science for California, Grade 7

Ecology

Victoria J. Orphan
Orphan studies microorganisms that consume methane on the ocean floor, bridging the Ecology and Geological Processes Units. Her work is helping to show how microbes can play a role in sequestering greenhouse gases.

Rachel Carson
Rachel Carson was a marine biologist, environmentalist and writer who alerted the world to the harmful environmental effects of pesticides. Her best-known book, Silent Spring, helped shape a growing environmental awareness.

Steward Pickett
Pickett is an ecologist and Director of the Baltimore Ecosystem Study. He is investigating how urban ecology can make our cities greener, cleaner, and healthier for all.

Robin W. Kimmerer
Dr. Kimmerer is plant ecologist and writer, and is the founding Director of the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment. The mission of the center is to create programs which draw onboth indigenous and scientific knowledge for the goals of sustainability.

Shahid Naaem
Shahid Naeem studies the ecological and environmental consequences of biodiversity loss and invasive species. His motto is “Ecology with no Apology.”

Teresa Mathews
Teresa Mathews is an environmental scientist who studies chemical contaminants in aquatic ecosystems, and is interested in understanding the biological and chemical processes that affect the accumulation of contaminants in aquatic food webs. Her research bridges the Chemical Reactions and Ecology units.

Geological Processes

Lisa D. White
White is a paleontologist and former professor of geology. She now directs educational programs for a museum, with one of her goals being to increase the representation of minorities in the geosciences. Her work bridges Geology and Evolution.

Lucy Jones
Jones is a seismologist who uses data on foreshocks to predict the likelihood of an earthquake following a temblor. This research has led to 11 earthqauake advisories in California since 1985.

Amy Williams
Williams worked on the Mars Science Laboratory mission, which sent the Curiosity rover to the surface of Mars. Her research focuses on evidence of microbial life captured in the rock record.

Rosaly Lopes
Dr. Lopes is currently a member of the Cassini Flight Project. She is studying the geology of Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, particularly its strange ice volcanoes.

Marie Tharp
Tharp helped create the first map of Atlantic Ocean floor.

Chemistry of Materials

Ainissa G. Ramirez
Ramirez is a materials engineer dedicated to communicating science to all people in ways that are fun and interesting.

Angela Belcher
Belcher’s lab engineers organisms and viruses to make hybrid organic-inorganic materials, such as solar cells and batteries.

Mary Sherman Morgan
Morgan invented the liquid fuel Hydyne in 1957, which powered the Jupiter-C rocket that boosted the United States’ first satellite, Explorer 1.

Narinder Singh Kapany
Dr. Kapany is considered to be the father of fiber optics in Silicon Valley, revolutionizing modern communication.

Chemical Reactions

Carolyn R. Bertozzi
Bertozzi uses an integrated approach to studying how cells communicate with each other through chemical reactions involving sugars. Her research bridges the Cells to Organisms unit and the Chemical Reactions unit.

Chen Liao
Chen Liao is developing new electrolyte materials for high capacity batteries. This battery chemistry is being used in the batteries of next generation electric cars like the Tesla.

Biomedical Engineering

Jack Andraka
As a teenager still in high school, Jack Andraka invented a cheap detection test for pancreatic, ovarian, and lung cancers.

Marta Dark McNeese
Marta is a physicist who works on the use of lasers in knee surgery to repair tears and strengthen cartilage.

Aimee Mullins
A paralympian, actress, and model, who uses prosthetic legs that were designed and developed by bioengineers.

Sangeeta Bhatia
Sangeeta Bhatia engineers micro and nanotechnologies, also called “tiny technologies,” to address complex challenges in human health ranging from cancer to liver disease and acquired infections.

Nirmala Ramanujam
Nirmala Ramanujam is a university professor who develops imaging and therapeutic tools for cancer, with a special focus on women’s cancers.

Chris Rozell
Chris Rozell is a professor whose research combines neuroengineering, feedback control, and machine learning to advance our understanding of brain functions and to design effective interventions.

Famous Biomedical Engineering Graduates
List of diverse people who have majored in Biomedical Engineering in College.