Meet the Scientists
A Panel Discussion with City University of New York's Accomplished Scientists
1:30 - 3:30pm on Saturday, February 2, 2008
Aronow Theater, The City College of New York
Honored and distinguished CUNY faculty will discuss life as a scientist with high school students competing in the New York City Science and Engineering Fair. Scientists from the natural, physical and social sciences will recount their personal odysseys in the sciences, including their pitfalls as well as successes, and discuss the opportunities in science research and education at the CUNY campuses. Careers in science can be very creative and fulfilling; the panelists will help inform NYCSEF's developing scientists about what a future in science would be like. Students will have the opportunity to ask the panelists questions; if you would like to send us questions in advance, please email us at: sciencefair@listserv.cuny.edu.
Confirmed Panelists, there may be more, including social scientists!
Dr. Christine Li, Biology at City College – Dr. Li is a developmental neurobiologist who studies communication between cells in the nervous system using the genetic model organism, Caenorhabditis elegans. She is a mentor in the Science Undergraduate Research Information Center at CCNY and a Harvard graduate.
Dr. Myriam Sarachik, Physics at City College – Born in Antwerp, Belgium, Myriam Sarachik attended primary school in Antwerp and Havana, Cuba and high school at the Bronx High School of Science in New York. She earned a A. B. cum laude from Barnard College in 1954, and a M.S. in 1957 and Ph.D. in 1960 from Columbia University. She was a postdoctoral research associate at IBM Watson Laboratories 1960-1962, a Member of the Technical Staff at Bell Telephone Laboratories 1962-4, and then joined City College as an Assistant Professor, rising to the rank of Distinguished Professor of Physics, a position which she still occupies.
Sarachik has been an advisor to the National Research Council, the National Science Foundation, the American Institute of Physics, the National Academy of Sciences, and the American Physical Society (APS); she served as President of the 43,000-member APS in 2003. She has travelled extensively here and abroad to deliver lectures and to serve on Advisory Panels. She has been active in defending the human rights of scientists as a member, Board Member, and/or chair of the Committee of Concerned Scientists, the Human Rights Committee of the New York Academy of Sciences, and the International Freedom of Scientists of the APS.
Myriam Sarachik received the 1995 New York City Mayor's Award for Excellence in Science and Technology, a 2004 Sloan Public Service Award from the Fund for the City of New York, the 2005 Oliver E. Buckley Prize in Condensed Matter Physics, and was chosen the 2005 L'Oreal/UNESCO Award "For Women in Science" for North\ America. She is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a Fellow of the American Physical Society, a Fellow of the New York Academy of Sciences, and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science degree by Amherst College in 2006.
Dr. Peng Fei Zhang, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at City College – Dr. Pengfei Zhang received his B.S. degree in Geochemistry from the University of Science and Technology of China in 1995. He moved to the US that year and received his M.S. degree in Geochemistry from Montana Tech in 1997 and his doctoral degree in Geological Engineering from University of Utah in 2000. He was an assistant professor at University of West Florida before he moved to the City College in 2003. He is now an associate professor at the Earth and Atmospheric Science Department.
Dr. Zhang's research addresses critical environmental issues. His latest research projects center on the occurrence, fate, and transport of emerging contaminants of concern (hormones, pharmaceutical residues, etc.) in water, soils, and sediments, particularly in areas surrounding New York City. His group has been investigating manure-borne hormones in streams of a concentrated animal feed operation (CAFO) in the Catskill/Delaware watersheds (which provide 90% of New York City's drinking water supply). His group also investigates the use of emerging contaminants as chemical indicators of pathogen contamination and nutrients contamination in Long Island Sound. In addition to the emerging contaminants, his group has been investigating the fate of some legacy contaminants such as organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in estuarine environments (Long Island Sound). Dr. Zhang's group is also developing engineered materials to remove various contaminants from contaminated water.
Dr. Glenn Kowach, Chemistry at City College – Dr. Kowach's research interests are in solid state inorganic chemistry, including the growth of single crystals, magnetic and optical materials. He has worked for Bell Laboratories and holds six patents.
Dr. Nathalia Holtzman, Biology at Queens College – Dr. Holtzman is a developmental biologist that studies the formation of organs. Utilizing zebrafish as a model system, she integrates cell biology, embryology, genetics, time-lapse video microscopy and computer-based cell movement analysis to study organogenesis.
Dr. David Lieberman, Physics at Queensborough Community College – Dr. Lieberman is the Chairperson of the Physics Department and director of the Laser & Fiber Optics Engineering Technology Program. He recognizes that as the number of optical systems and components at the home and workplace increases, so does demand for people who know how to build, install, test, and repair them.
Dr. Fred Moshary, Electrical Engineering at City College – Dr. Moshary is an Associate Professor and Deputy Chair of the Department of Electrical Engineering. He works on atmospheric remote sensing, specifically multi-wavelength lidar/DIAL, optical sensors, and fiber-optic amplifiers. He is also the Director of the Earth System Science and Environmental Engineering Program, a unique, interdisciplinary undergraduate program at City College designed to create a knowledgeable workforce able to address environmental issues.
