Experimental biology and impact: solutions to climate change and biodiversity loss

Jane Lubchenco is the Valley Professor of Marine Biology and University Distinguished Professor of Integrative Biology at Oregon State University.  She is a marine ecologist with expertise in the ocean, climate change, and interactions between the environment and human well-being.  From 2021-2025, she served as Deputy Director for Climate and Environment in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.  She previously served as the U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and inaugural member of President Barack Obama’s Science Team from 2009-2013. From 2014-2016, she was the first U.S. State Department Science Envoy for the Ocean, serving as a science diplomat to China, Indonesia, South Africa, Mauritius, and Seychelles.  She is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences, The Royal Society, The World Academy of Sciences, and the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, among others. She has received numerous awards recognizing contributions to science and society, including 24 honorary doctorates (most recently from Oxford University), a MacArthur (genius) Fellowship, and the highest honor given by the National Academy of Sciences (the Public Welfare Medal). Dr. Lubchenco has served as President of the Ecological Society of America, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the International Council for Science (ICSU).

She co-founded three organizations that train scientists to be better communicators and engage effectively with the public, policy makers, the media, and industry: the Leopold Leadership Program (later Earth Leadership Program), COMPASS, and Climate Central.  She co-founded a research-policy network of university researchers, the Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans (PISCO); she co-founded the National Ocean Protection Coalition that unifies U.S. organizations working for effective ocean protection; and she co-founded a science-industry partnership, SeaBOS, Seafood Businesses for Ocean Stewardship. Dr. Lubchenco received a B.A. in biology from Colorado College, a M.S. in zoology from the University of Washington, and a Ph.D. in ecology from Harvard University. She has held faculty appointments at Harvard University, Stanford University, and Oregon State University.

Esther Ngumbi is an Assistant Professor in Entomology and African American Studies, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. She is a senior food security fellow with the New Voices Fellowship at the Aspen Institute.

Her research is focused on understanding how climate change associated stressors including flooding impact chemical-mediated interactions among herbivorous insects, natural enemies, plants and their associated microorganisms. In addition, Dr. Ngumbi’ s research on beneficial soil microbes seeks to find microbial-based solutions for improving crop production, alleviating flooding and drought stress in crop plants and sustainable pest management and agriculture.

She has been the recipient of several national and international awards including UIUC Campus Awards for Excellence in Public Engagement with Science, the 2021 American Association for the Advancement of Science Mani L. Bhaumik Award for Public Engagement with Science, and 2018 Society of Experimental Biology Presidents Medal. 

Dr. Ngumbi is a thought leader and has contributed immensely to national and global discussions in several areas, including climate change, need to invest in flooding research, food security, science policy, agricultural development, and sustainability. Believing that issues like climate change associated extremes and hunger and food insecurity affect all of us, Dr. Ngumbi has continued to demonstrate visionary and inspirational leadership in the pursuit of a sustainable future where hunger and food insecurity are eradicated, and a future where scientific research provides sustainable solutions to climate change.