Nalini Nadkarni

Roles: Panelist, Subject

Nalini Nadkarni’s unique academic career interweaves her research on rainforest canopy biota with innovative public engagement. She has written 140 scientific papers and books, supported by the National Science Foundation and the National Geographic Society. She also collaborates with faith-based groups, artists, and corporations to engage with those who do not or cannot gain access to science education and nature. In 2004, she initiated programs to bring science lectures and hands-on conservation projects to adults and youth who are incarcerated inside state prisons and juvenile detention centers. In 2016, she and her colleagues created the NSF-supported “STEM Ambassador Program” to train academic scientists to engage community groups with their research in the venues where they live, work, recreate, and worship. Her work is featured in journals ranging from Science to Playboy, and in public media such as Science Friday, Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me, and RadioLab. Her awards include a Guggenheim Fellowship, the AAAS Award for Public Engagement, the National Science Foundation Award for Public Service, The Wilson Award for the Advancement of Social Justice, and the Archie Carr Medal for Conservation.