Newswise — Former National Science Foundation head Dr. Rita Colwell and "TIME 100: The People Who Shape Our World" honoree Dr. Kelly Emanuel will be recognized by the New England Aquarium for their lifelong work and dedication to conservation causes on Tuesday, June 5 at the Aquarium's David B. Stone Award Ceremony. The scientists will each receive the David B. Stone Award for distinguished service to the environment and the community during the ceremony, which takes place this year during the institution's Navigator Society Appreciation Dinner.
The David B. Stone Award is given biannually and is named after the Aquarium's visionary principal founder, Boston businessman David B. Stone. Past recipients include oceanographer Jacques-Yves Cousteau (1973), filmmaker Sir David Attenborough (1986), newscaster Walter Cronkite (1994), Senator John Kerry (1997), philanthropist David Rockefeller Jr. (2005) and author Peter Benchley (2005).
Drs. Colwell and Emanuel have devoted themselves to the pursuit of knowledge through science, and have worked tirelessly to provide humanity with the tools to make wise decisions for itself and the world's oceans. Below are descriptions of their work.
Dr. Rita ColwellDr. Rita Colwell is the Chairman of Canon U.S. Life Sciences, Inc. and a Distinguished Professor at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health and the University of Maryland College Park. Throughout her career, she has tirelessly furthered ocean science by focusing on science education, infectious diseases and marine microbiology. She is currently developing an international network to address global water issues, including waterborne diseases and safe drinking water. As the first female Director of the National Science Foundation, Dr. Colwell helped save countless lives through her pioneering studies of how cholera and other waterborne diseases spread through estuarine ecosystems. Author or co-author of more than 16 books and 700 scientific papers, Dr. Colwell was also behind the National Science Foundation's successful new program on biocomplexity.
Dr. Colwell has received 48 honorary degrees from institutions of higher learning. She is the recipient of more than 80 distinct academic or professional awards, honors or appointments, including membership in the microbiological societies of the UK, Australia, France, Israel, Bangladesh and the U.S. In 2005 she received the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star, bestowed by the Emperor of Japan. A geological site in Antarctica, Colwell Massif, was named in recognition of her work in the polar regions.
Dr. Kerry EmanuelDr. Kerry Emanuel is a Professor of Atmospheric Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the author most recently of Divine Wind: The History and Science of Hurricanes. His interests center on tropical meteorology and climate, with a specialty in hurricane physics. Dr. Emanuel's gift for communicating scientific concepts to non-scientists has helped him wake up the American public to the realities of climate change, particularly the connection between rising atmospheric temperatures and the severity of tropical storms like Hurricane Katrina.
Reviewers of Divine Wind have called Dr. Emanuel "a perfect example of the blending of science and the humanities" for its integration of scientific concepts, art and literature about tropical storms. He is also the author or co-author of more than 100 scientific papers, and his next book, What We Know About Climate Change, is scheduled for publication in September.
In 2006, Dr. Emanuel was named one of TIME magazine's "TIME 100: The People Who Shape Our World." He is the recipient of numerous awards from the American Meteorological Society, including the 1986 Meisinger Award, the 1992 Banner I. Miller Award, and in 2007 the Carl-Gustaf Rossby Research Medal, the Louis J. Battan Author's Award and the post of Bernhard Haurwitz Memorial Lecturer. He was named an American Meteorological Society Fellow in 1995, and has also served on the Society's Council and the Board of the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research. Currently he sits on the Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate of the National Academy.
About the New England AquariumLocated on the Boston waterfront, the New England Aquarium is one of the most prominent and popular aquariums in the United States. Its mission is "to present, promote, and protect the world of water." Beyond its exhibit halls, the Aquarium is also a leading ocean conservation organization with research scientists working around the globe and biologists rescuing stranded marine animals in New England.
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