Smithsonian Science » Meet Our Scientists

Meet our Scientist Rachel Page. She studies frog-eating bats, and other animals, in Panama

Tue, 27 Nov 2012 18:33:40 +0000

Meet Rachel Page, a Smithsonian scientist in Panama who studies frog-eating bats (fringe-lipped bats), among other topics. Her current research focuses on learning and memory in neotropical bats, combining field studies with laboratory experiments to learn about predator cognition and its effects on the evolution of their prey.

Meet Our Scientist: Justin Touchon, Frog Follower at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 13:52:07 +0000

Meet Smithsonian scientist Justin Touchon, a National Science Foundation (NSF) postdoctoral researcher at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama. Justin's work focuses on developmental ecology and reproductive plasticity of the hourglass treefrog (Dendropsophus ebraccatus) and red-eyed treefrog (Agalychnis callidryas). Justin and his advisor, Karen Warkentin, were the first to have witnessed the frogs laying eggs in water, in addition to doing so on land -- something with major implications for the evolutionary biology of similar creatures.

Meet Our Scientist: Matthew Carrano, curator of dinosauria at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.

Thu, 29 Sep 2011 14:34:17 +0000

Meet our scientist Meg Crofoot, primate researcher in Panama. Meg studies intergroup competition in white‐faced capuchin monkeys

Wed, 24 Aug 2011 16:58:20 +0000

Meet Meg Crofoot, a primate researcher on Barro Colorado Island at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama. Meg studies intergroup competition in white‐faced capuchin monkeys (Cebus capucinus) by tracking them through radio telemetry collars and observing their behaviors.

Meg is a post‐doctoral fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, as well as at the Tropical Research Institute, and also teaches in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Princeton University.

Click here to read more about Meg and her research.

Meet Our Scientist–Briana Pobiner, human origins researcher at the National Museum of Natural History

Thu, 07 Jul 2011 13:02:36 +0000

Digging up early human and animal remains from the field in Africa, performing examination and publishing research about her findings, then enticing and educating the public about the implications are all in a week's work for Briana Pobiner.

Meet our Scientist–Mark Torchin tracks invasive marine species and their parasites in Panama

Fri, 10 Jun 2011 10:25:50 +0000

Mark Torchin, a marine ecologist at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) in Panama, talks about how he studies the parasites of invasive marine animals such as snails. Much of his research focuses on biological invasions and the dynamics between the host, the parasites and the surrounding ecosystem.

Community ecologist Sunshine Van Bael explains her work in Panama with leafcutting ants

Sun, 03 Apr 2011 15:42:48 +0000

Meet our Scientist: Brian Gratwicke, Amphibian Avenger

Thu, 16 Dec 2010 18:00:03 +0000

Join National Zoo Conservation Biologist Brian Gratwicke in his work to save Panama's amphibians from extinction. You can also catch up on his dispatches from the field on the Panamanian Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project's blog: http://amphibianrescue.org/

Coral “whisperer” Mike Henley of the National Zoo explains how he cares for the Zoo’s living coral

Mon, 08 Nov 2010 11:59:57 +0000

Meet Our Scientist: Forensic ornithologist Carla Dove explains bird-strike science

Thu, 07 Oct 2010 15:55:11 +0000

When birds and planes collide: Carla Dove, a forensic ornithologist at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, talks about the work of the Smithsonian's Feather Identification Lab and its role in improving aviation safety.

Meet Our Scientist–Helen James dives into dormant Hawaiian volcanoes to find bird fossils

Fri, 01 Oct 2010 13:13:22 +0000

Smithsonian Scientist Helen James dives into dormant Hawaiian volcanoes to find bird fossils. Her work to identify these species (some new species, some extinct) helps us learn about the past--specifically, how humans might have caused the extinction of certain bird species.

Meet Our Scientist: Jefferson Hall – Invasive Plant Science

Sun, 22 Aug 2010 11:53:11 +0000

Meet Our Scientist: Helene Muller Landau – Tropical Forest Science

Sun, 22 Aug 2010 11:44:27 +0000

What determines the variety of trees in a tropical forest? Is it the seed size? Perhaps seed-hungry animals? And what happens to forests that are being drastically changed by humans? Smithsonian Tropical Research Center Botanist, Helene Muller Landau, talks about her attempt to find answers to these questions.

Meet Our Scientist: Stefan Schnitzer – Tropical Vine Science

Sun, 22 Aug 2010 11:39:51 +0000

Smithsonian Tropical Research Center Botanist Stefan Schnitzer talks about his work studying lianas (woody vines) in the jungles of Panama. These hardy vines compete with trees for water and nutrients and also act as highways for jungle animals moving through the forest canopy.

Meet Our Scientist: Mary Hagedorn – Coral Science

Sat, 21 Aug 2010 12:19:21 +0000