Women in STEM Seminar
2026-2027 Women in STEM Seminar
Please join us for the 2026-2027 Women in STEM Annual Lecture by Karen B. Strier, Ph.D.
This event is free and open to the public. RSVPs are encouraged to ensure enough food and beverages are provided at the reception.
Karen B. Strier is the Vilas Research Professor and Irven DeVore Professor of Anthropology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
She is an international authority on the endangered northern muriqui monkey, which she has been studying in the Brazilian Atlantic forest since 1982. Her pioneering, long-term field research has been critical to conservation efforts on behalf of this species, and has been influential in broadening comparative perspectives on primate behavioral and ecological diversity.
She is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and was elected to membership in the U.S. National Academy of Sciences.
Talk: From Theory to Practice: The intersection of primate behavioral ecology and conservation
Date: Thursday Oct. 8, 2026
Time: 5:30 p.m. with reception to follow
Location: KPBS Community Engagement Center
Additional opportunities for students, postdoctoral scholars, faculty, leadership, and community partners to meet with Dr. Strier will be coordinated through the Research Advancement team.
About the Seminar
SDSU Division of Research and Innovation, in collaboration with multiple SDSU colleges, is proud to host the Women in STEM Seminar annually, bringing exceptional, nationally recognized women scientists and engineers to SDSU for two days of activities and conversations with the broader San Diego community.
Previous Women in STEM Seminar Speakers
Dr. Katherine (Kathy) Yelick is the Vice Chancellor for Research and the Robert S. Pepper Distinguished Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at UC Berkeley, as well as a Senior Faculty Scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Her research spans high performance computing, programming languages, compilers, and parallel algorithms, with notable contributions to partitioned global address space languages, automatic performance tuning, and high performance genome analysis.
The 2025-2026 event was co-sponsored by Applied Data Systems, NetApp, and Neuvys Technologies. Thank you to our sponsors who made this event possible!
Dr. Dawn Wright, chief scientist of Esri, is a specialist in marine geology, geography, and oceanography. Dr. Wright is a leading authority in the application of geographic information system (GIS) technology and played a key role in creating the first GIS data model for the oceans.
Her research interests include seafloor mapping and tectonics, ocean conservation, environmental informatics, and ethics in information technology. Notably, Dr. Wright led the team that created the Ecological Marine Units (EMUs), a 3D digital ocean that improves our understanding of marine environments and ocean sustainability.
For over four decades, award-winning ecologist Nalini Nadkarni has studied cloud forests in the Costa Rican town of Monteverde. Dr. Nadkarni has pioneered bringing science education, conservation projects, and nature imagery to the incarcerated. Her collaborative work with a wide range of humanists, creative writers, poets, dancers, musicians, and visual artists aims to better understand and communicate the relationships between nature and humans. Dr. Nadkarni is a professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Utah.
Dr. Lilia A. Abron is the first African-American woman in the nation to receive a doctorate in chemical engineering. In 1978, she became the founder and CEO of PEER Consultants, PC, an environmental consulting firm headquartered in Washington DC. In 2004, Abron was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Abron's visit to SDSU also included a screening of "Picture a Scientist," an official selection of the Tribeca Film Festival.
Dr. Jamieson is the Ransburg Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Purdue University, where she also served as Dean of the College of Engineering for 11 years. She was elected to the National Academy of Engineering for innovations in integrating engineering education and community service in 2005. In recognition for her achievements in engineering education, she was also elected as a member and fellow in the American Academy of Arts & Science and the American Society for Engineering Education.
Read about Jamieson's visit to SDSU.
Dr. Colwell holds degrees in bacteriology, genetics, and oceanography and studies infectious diseases. Dr. Colwell is the founder and Chair of CosmosID, a bioinformatics company, is a National Academy of Science Member and was the 11th Director of the National Science Foundation.
SDSU's Women in Science Society co-hosted Colwell's visit to campus.