Description: Maya Yamato, a Peter Buck Postdoctural Fellow at the Smithsonian, is studying baleen whale ears to understand how ocean noise pollution may be affecting marine mammals living in a rapidly changing ocean environment. #Groundbreaker
Description: Paleoanthropologist, Briana Pobner, studies the evolution of human carnivores and is leading a National Science Foundation project to provide teachers with better materials that use human examples to teach evolution in AP high school biology classes. #Groundbreaker
Description: Senior Scientist, Denise Breitburg, directs the Marine & Estuarine Ecology Lab at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, and has developed novel ways to investigate the impacts of dead zones and acidification on Chesapeake Bay fish and invertebrates. #Groundbreaker
Description: National Air and Space Museum’s Objects Conservator, Lauren Horelick, assesses objects by creating written and photographic documentation of objects, and conducts material identification to craft the best conservation treatment protocol. She has preserved objects such as the Spirt of St. Louis and the “Bat-Wing Ship.” #Groundbreaker