Rosina M. Bierbaum, STAP Chair, is among the new members to be elected to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences – one of the highest honors in the scientific field.
"Election to the National Academy of Sciences has me stunned, humbled, and elated, all at the same time. This institution is the premier voice of science and technology in the Nation and needed now more than ever in this era of ‘alt-facts,” Dr. Bierbaum said.
"As a first-generation college graduate hailing from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, I know I would not be here without “Star Trek”, a lot of science fairs, and many, many patient mentors along the way,"
"Their strongest advice to me was that doing research was not enough, but one should strive to be a ‘civic scientist’ and communicate the value of science to the public.”
“My unusual career has come full circle from ‘discovery’ of knowledge, to ‘assessment’ and ‘use’ of knowledge for the Congress and the White House, and back to the University to mentor the next generation of environmental leaders. I pledge to mentor them as well as I was mentored."
In addition to being the Chair of STAP, Dr. Bierbaum is Roy F. Weston Chair in Natural Economics at the University of Maryland’s School of Public Policy, and a professor, and former dean, of natural resources and environmental policy at the School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS), University of Michigan. She served on President Barack Obama’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, where she worked to advance policy in areas including STEM education, antibiotic resistance, clean energy, agriculture, natural capital and drinking water. She was the lead author on the U.S. National Climate Assessment; serves as a Science Adviser to the newly-created Global Adaptation Commission; and served as an Adaptation Fellow at the World Bank.
