Meridian International Center has been a partner of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs since 2011 in implementing the U.S. Science Envoy Program.
Through the Science Envoy Program, eminent U.S. scientists and engineers leverage their expertise and networks to forge connections and identify opportunities for sustained international cooperation. Science Envoys focus on issues of common interest in science, technology, and engineering fields and usually serve for one year. They are instrumental in strengthening our bilateral science and technology relationships, reaching out to foreign publics, and advancing policy objectives such as increasing the number of women in science and advocating for science-based decision-making by:
Building peer-to-peer connections between in-country researchers and the U.S. scientific community
Advocating for merit-based, transparent, peer-reviewed scientific institutions
Promoting science education and public engagement, highlighting the role of science in society
Advising U.S. government representatives on programs and opportunities which may support collaborative activities
The Science Envoys are leaders in academia, Nobel prizewinners, distinguished authors and government advisors. Their areas of expertise include chemistry, physics, agronomy, medicine, engineering, and evolutionary biology. Since 2010, 30 Envoys have visited 60 countries across Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, South America, and Southeast Asia and have engaged with dozens of government officials, including Heads of State. Science Envoys meet government and non-government science officials, convene meetings on topics at the intersection of foreign policy and science, technology, innovation including in the areas of oceans, emerging technology, wildlife conservation, public health, STEM education and diversity, and energy.
Current U.S. Science Envoys
Meridian is honored to partner with @SciDiplomacyUSA to welcome the most diverse #USScienceEnvoy cohort selected by @SecBlinken. These esteemed U.S. scientists, which include both continuing and new Envoys, will leverage their expertise as they serve as science diplomats to… https://t.co/OoxduGGbsU
— Meridian International Center (@MeridianIntl) March 20, 2024
Rumman Chowdhury is a data scientist and social scientist. She is the CEO of Humane Intelligence, a technology nonprofit that builds a community of practice around evaluations of artificial intelligence (AI) models. Dr. Chowdhury is also a Responsible AI Fellow at Harvard University’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society. Previously, Dr. Chowdhury served as Director of the Machine Learning Ethics, Transparency, and Accountability (META) team at Twitter, as well as the Global Lead for Responsible AI at Accenture Applied Intelligence. She has earned numerous awards and accolades, including Time Magazine’s 100 most Influential People in AI, BBC’s 100 Women, Worthy Magazine’s top 100, the Bay Area’s top 40 under 40, and Forbes’ labeled her one of Five Who are Shaping AI. Dr. Chowdhury holds two undergraduate degrees from MIT, a M.S. in Quantitative Methods of the Social Sciences from Columbia University, and a Ph.D. in political science from the University of California, San Diego.
Stephanie “Steffi” Diem is an Assistant Professor in Nuclear Engineering and Engineering Physics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison). Her experimental plasma physics research focuses on using microwaves to heat and drive current in magnetically confined, high-temperature plasmas for fusion energy development. Dr. Diem is the Principal Investigator of the new Pegasus-III experiment that is developing innovative ways to start up future fusion power plants. She is a member of the New Voices of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), and was a speaker at the White House Summit on Developing a Bold Decadal Vision for Commercial Fusion Energy. Prior to joining UW-Madison, she worked as a R&D Scientist in the Fusion Energy Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and served a long-term assignment at the DIII-D National Fusion Facility at General Atomics in San Diego, CA. Dr. Diem received her B.S. in Nuclear Engineering at UW-Madison and Ph.D. in Astrophysical Sciences from Princeton University.
Sian Proctor is a Geoscience Professor at the Maricopa Community Colleges, an Afrofuturism Space Artist, and an Astronaut. She is the Chief Inspiration Astronaut of Space2inspire and founder of The Proctor Foundation for Art and Science. In 2021, she was the mission pilot for SpaceX Inspiration4, the first all-civilian orbital mission. Dr. Proctor is the first female commercial astronaut spaceship pilot and the only African American woman to ever be a space mission pilot. She is also the first African-American commercial astronaut, and the first African-American to paint in space. She is currently serving as a member of the National Space Council Users’ Advisory Group, representing the Maricopa Community Colleges. Her motto is “Space2inspire,” where she encourages people to use their unique strengths and passion to inspire themselves and those within their reach. She believes that we need to actively strive for a just, equitable, diverse, and inclusive (J.E.D.I.) space both on Earth and beyond. Dr. Proctor holds a B.S. in Environmental Science, an M.S. in Geology, and a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction: Science Education from Arizona State University.
Dawn Wright is a geographer and oceanographer, Chief Scientist of the Environmental Systems Research Institute (Esri), and Courtesy Professor at Oregon State University. Her work has focused on mapping the ocean floor in locations all over the world. Dr. Wright has also assisted with several outreach and policy programs, hoping to encourage more minority and female students to consider a career in the sciences. In 1991, Dr. Wright became the first African-American woman to dive to the ocean floor in Alvin, a deep-sea submersible vehicle, and in 2022 she became the first, and only, African-American to dive to Challenger Deep, the deepest point on Earth. An elected member of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering, as well as the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, Dr. Wright earned a Ph.D. in Physical Geography and Marine Geology from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Dr. Wright also holds a B.S. cum laude in Geology from Wheaton College (Illinois), and an M.S. in Oceanography from Texas A&M.
In 2024, the U.S. Science Envoy Program is also extending the work of three members from the Cohort: Jessica Gephart from the University of Washington, Dr. Prineha Narang from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Dr. Kyle Whyte from the University of Michigan. These Science Envoys will continue their terrific S&T cooperation in the areas of: illegal, unregulated, and unreported fishing; quantum information science and technology; and the nexus of environmental science and Indigenous knowledge.
Jessica Gephart is an Assistant Professor in the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences at the University of Washington. She previously worked as an Assistant Professor at American University. Dr. Gephart received her Ph.D. in Environmental Science from the University of Virginia and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center. Her research focuses on the intersection of seafood globalization and environmental change, evaluating how seafood trade drives distant environmental impacts, as well as how environmental shocks disrupt seafood trade. Her work brings together global trade data, local consumption data, and environmental impact data to understand the opportunities and risks of seafood globalization for sustainable production and food security.
Prineha Narang is a Professor and Howard Reiss Chair in Physical Sciences at UCLA where she leads an interdisciplinary group in quantum science and technology. Prior to moving to UCLA, she was an Assistant Professor of Computational Materials Science at Harvard University. Before starting on the Harvard faculty, Dr. Narang was an Environmental Fellow at Harvard, and worked as a research scholar in condensed matter theory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She received an M.S. and Ph.D. in Applied Physics from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). Narang’s work has been recognized by many honors, including APS’ Maria Goeppert Mayer Award and the Mildred Dresselhaus Prize.
Kyle Whyte is a professor in the environmental justice specialization at the University of Michigan’s School for Environment and Sustainability. He is founding Faculty Director of the Tishman Center for Social Justice and the Environment and Principal Investigator of the Energy Equity Project. Dr. Whyte serves on the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council and as the Chapter Lead Author for the Tribes and Indigenous Peoples chapter of the U.S. National Climate Assessment. His research focuses on Indigenous peoples’ rights and knowledge in climate change and conservation planning, education, and policy. He is an enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation.
Meridian International Center has been a partner of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs since 2011 in implementing the U.S. Science Envoy Program.
