Professor Julia Rodriguez doesn’t come up with scientific theories or observe cells through a microscope. She has, however, spent her life studying science. A contradiction in terms? Not at all.
Rodriguez is less interested in the validity of scientific claims themselves than in the question of how scientific ideas about race and gender intersect in society, specifically in Latin America.
Rodriguez’s passion for this nexus is evident in virtually every task she undertakes, from using her prestigious National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award to create HOSLAC (History of Science in Latin America and the Caribbean), a digital archive of primary sources, web links, and references for students and professors, to writing award-winning papers such as “A Complex Fabric: Intersecting Histories of Race,...

Karen Bennett, Cooperative Extension professor and forest resources specialist, is one of the newest Fellows with the Society of American Foresters (SAF).
The social and environmental problems facing our world are increasing, not decreasing. It is becoming rapidly apparent to many that government and non-profits will not, alone, be able to help address these issues, and that we need fundamentally different approaches.
Scoop up a handful of dirt from your garden or backyard. It may look like nothing’s there. In fact, you’re holding some 200 billion organisms, including tens of thousands of different species. And most of them are in the midst of a vital job: recycling dead plant and animal debris. 