Next in Water
The Next in Science series provides an opportunity for early-career scientists whose creative, cross-disciplinary research is thematically linked to introduce their work to one another, to fellow scientists, and to nonspecialists from Harvard and the greater Boston area.
Without water, life as we know it cannot exist. The speakers in this program will discuss water’s vital role across four areas of modern inquiry: biology, earth science, public health, and the search for extraterrestrial life. What can researchers in these fields learn from one another? How will the interplay between climate change and oceans affect lives, from microorganisms’ to our own? What may “biosignatures” of alien worlds look like? How can we keep a good relationship with water on Earth, preserving its abundance and potability while keeping it out of city streets as sea levels rise?
Event Video
The Ocean's Role in Global Climate Change
Hilary I. Palevsky, assistant professor, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Boston College
Study Global Change in the Oceans: The Facts, the Fury, and the Future
Randi Rotjan, research assistant professor, Department of Biology, Boston University
Mapping the Invisible: Using Data to Improve Drinking Water Quality and Public Health
Xindi (Cindy) Hu, data scientist, Mathematica
Water Above, Water Below, Water Within: The Many-faceted Role of Water in Planetary Habitability
Laura Schaefer, assistant professor, Department of Geological Sciences, Stanford University
Group Discussion and Audience Q&A
Chris Bowler RI ’17, CNRS Director of Research, Institut de Biologie de l'École Normale Supérieure, and speakers
Close of Program
Alyssa Goodman, faculty codirector of the science program at the Radcliffe Institute and Robert Wheeler Willson Professor of Applied Astronomy in the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Harvard University
11 AM
Welcome
Alyssa Goodman, faculty codirector of the science program at the Radcliffe Institute and Robert Wheeler Willson Professor of Applied Astronomy in the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Harvard University
Framing Remarks
Chris Bowler RI ’17, CNRS Director of Research, Institut de Biologie de l'École Normale Supérieure
11:10 AM
Hilary I. Palevsky, assistant professor, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Boston College
The Ocean's Role in Global Climate Change
11:35 AM
Randi Rotjan, research assistant professor, Department of Biology, Boston University
Study Global Change in the Oceans: The Facts, the Fury, and the Future
Noon
Break
12:30 PM
Welcome Back
Alyssa Goodman
12:35 PM
Xindi (Cindy) Hu, data scientist, Mathematica
Mapping the Invisible: Using Data to Improve Drinking Water Quality and Public Health
1 PM
Laura Schaefer, assistant professor, Department of Geological Sciences, Stanford University
Water Above, Water Below, Water Within: The Many-faceted Role of Water in Planetary Habitability
1:25 PM
Group Discussion and Audience Q&A
Chris Bowler and speakers
1:55 PM
Close of Program
Alyssa Goodman
2 PM
Breakout Rooms (optional)
Attendees are invited to join the speakers in Zoom breakout rooms following this event. If you are interested in attending, register for the full program. Registrants will receive a follow-up email with a separate registration form for the breakout rooms.
