Dr. Rita Colwell

Roles: Special Guest

Dr. Rita R. Colwell is Distinguished University Professor at the University of Maryland, College Park and Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health and Chairman and Chief Science Officer, CosmosID, Inc.  Her interests are focused on genomics, biodiversity, and molecular microbial systematics and ecology. Dr. Colwell is an honorary member of the microbiological societies of the UK, Australia, France, Israel, Bangladesh, India and the U.S. Dr. Colwell served as the 11th Director of the National Science Foundation from 1998 to 2004.  She has authored/co-authored 19 books and over 700 scientific publications. She is a member of the National Academy of Science and has been awarded the Stockholm Water Prize, Order of the Rising Sun, Japan, and the US National Medal of Science.