Monday, June 15
Robert Pallitto – Seton Hall University
800th Anniversary of the Magna Carta
Robert Pallitto is a political science professor at Seton Hall University and a former public interest lawyer. He received his B.A. cum laude from Rutgers University, his law degree from the University of Michigan Law School, and his Ph.D. from the New School for Social Research. As a lawyer, he was lead counsel or co-counsel in several precedent-setting New Jersey cases involving public entitlements and housing rights.
Tuesday, June 16
Rob Spencer – Florida State University
Permafrost
Rob Spencer is an assistant professor of oceanography at Florida State. Research in his laboratory is focused on understanding the chemical composition of Earth’s major carbon reservoirs (soils, sediments and dissolved organic matter (DOM) in marine and terrestrial ecosystems), and how this controls movement between these reservoirs and the atmosphere. These major reservoirs can vary between carbon dioxide source or sink with respect to the atmosphere in a changing climate and due to anthropogenic impacts. His team works across a range of scales from global to molecular level and a wide variety of environments from the Arctic to the tropics. Application and development of a range of analytical techniques is undertaken in the laboratory and field centered on organic geochemistry, but encompassing methodology from oceanography, hydrology, microbiology and soil science.
Wednesday, June 17
Lisa Chasan-Taber – UMass Amherst
Gestational Diabetes
Lisa Chasan-Taber is a reproductive epidemiologist and an internationally recognized expert on physical activity during pregnancy. She has spent the past 15 years actively leading national research teams in the conduct of lifestyle interventions among high-risk, ethnically diverse pregnant women.
Thursday, June 18
Tiziana Casciaro – University of Toronto
Professional Networking
Tiziana Casciaro is an associate professor of organizational behavior at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management. Her research concerns the social-psychological mechanisms responsible for the formation and evolution of social networks within and between organizations. She received her Ph.D. in organizational science and sociology from Carnegie-Mellon University.
Friday, June 19
Adam Sobel – Columbia University
The Madden Julian Oscillation
Adam Sobel is a professor in Columbia’s Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory; he is also director of the Columbia Initiative on Extreme Weather and Climate. He studies atmospheric dynamics, with a focus on extreme events and tropical meteorology. The Madden-Julian Oscillation is a particular research focus, and he participated in the DYNAMO field program to study it in the Maldives in 2011. He has recently received the Meisinger Award from the American Meteorological Society, an AXA Award from the AXA Research Fund, and the Ascent Award from the Atmospheric Sciences section of the American Geophysical Union. His book Storm Surge: Hurricane Sandy, Our Warming Climate, and Extreme Weather of the Past and Future was awarded the Atmospheric Science Librarians International Choice Award in the Popular category.
