Environmental Health Scientist | Vanessa Galaviz

Vanessa Galaviz is an American environmental health scientist.

Galaviz completed degrees at San Diego State University and UC Diego and received her PhD in Environmental & Occupational Hygiene in 2013 from the University of Washington.

She has always had a strong interest in understanding and addressing the environmental health of minority and low-income communities. Her graduate work fell well within this area, researching diesel exposure among pedestrians who cross the US–Mexico border in San Ysidro, CA. The cross-border findings have already helped establish a biomarker for diesel exposure and has already been used by San Ysidro to consider policy changes.

Galaviz has already received multiple awards in her career, including the Casa Familiar ABRAZO Award in 2011, the the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Volunteer Award in 2012, and the Gilbert S. Omenn Award for Academic Excellence in 2013.

In addition to her academic work, Galaviz is very active in the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) and is passionate about inspiring high school and undergraduate students, especially minority students, to pursue science as a career. She is famous at for her ability to organize field trips and lab visits for budding scientists and uses any national meeting she may presenting her work at to also network with and recruit prospective students.

Sceleb | Feryal Özel

Feryal Özel is a Turkish astrophysicist. Özel completed her BS in Physics and Applied Mathematics at Columbia in 1996 and her MS in Physics in 1997 at the Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen. She received her Phd in Astrophysics from Harvard University in 2002. Özel is currently an Associate Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Arizona. She is the recipient of many awards and fellowships and published numerous articles on a variety of topics. Özel is also very interested in sustainable energy and participates in the Arizona Research Institute for Solar Energy (ARISE).

In addition to her academic work, Özel has written articles for mainstream press and appeared on CNN International and several TV shows including the Universe series on History Channel and Big Ideas on PBS. Özel also worked with Louis Vuitton as a spokesperson to support women's literacy in the Middle East. In 2010, Özel also served as a spokesperson for a Louis Vuitton women's literacy campaign. 

Özel has been on our Stylish Scientist List since 2012. She was also added to our PISA List and Citizens of the Next Century List in 2013.

Sceleb | Wallace "J" Nichols

Wallace J. Nichols (aka "J") is an American marine biologist, conservation activist, and outdoor enthusiast. He earned a BS in Biological Sciences from DePauw University in 1989, a Master of Environmental Management from Duke University in 1992, and a PhD in Wildlife and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Arizona in 2003.

Nichols is currently a a Research Associate at California Academy of Sciences and founder/co-director of Ocean Revolution, an international network of young ocean advocates and LiVEBLUE. He is particularly active in Pacific Sea Turtle conservation efforts and sustainable fisheries. Nichols has helped start many conservation nonprofits and projects and is a frequent contributor to mainstream magazines and websites. When not championing marine conservation, you might find Nichols swimming, hiking, kayaking, trail running, fixing up vintage trucks, or surfing.

Sceleb | Garrett Lisi

A. Garrett Lisi is an American theoretical physicist and multi-sport surfer (water, snow, air, and asphalt). Lisi completed a B.S. in Physics and a B.S. in Mathematics from UCLA in 1991 and a PhD in Physics in 1999 from UC San Diego where he received UC Regents and ARCS Foundation fellowships.

Although he has held academic positions, Lisi currently works as an independent researcher on the island of Maui in Hawaii. Lisi is widely known for his paper, "An Exceptionally Simple Theory of Everything", that proposed a theory to unify particle physics with Einstein's theory of gravitation using the E8 Lie Group (a group of mathematical, continuous symmetries that produce a particular multi-dimensional geometric shape). Lisi's theory maps forces and particles to this E8 shape, producing a stunning, yet elegant pattern to quantum scale physics of the universe. A strong advocate of living life to its fullest and balancing life with work, Lisi is as likely to be catching the next wave as he is to be writing the next chapter in modern physics.

Sceleb | Nina Tandon

Nina Tandon is an American electrical and biomedical engineer. She currently conducts research at Columbia University's Laboratory for Stem Cells and Tissue Engineering and is an adjunct professor of Electrical Engineering at the Cooper Union.

Tandon received a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering from The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, Electrical Engineering in 2001, an MS in Electrical Engineering from MIT in 2006, and a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Columbia in 2009 for which she studied electrical stimulation in cardiac tissue engineering. She was also a Fulbright Scholar in Tor Vergata University in Rome, Italy between 2003 and 2004 where she researched electronic odor detection. Tandon was a Columbia and MIT Presidential Fellow and she was chosen as a Ted Fellow in 2011. Avocations include drums, photography, yoga, running, metalsmithing, playing with puppies, baking, and exploring. How she finds time to do all this, we have no idea but we are thrilled to have her among our most creative and inspiring Scelebs.

Sceleb | Don Vaughn

Don Vaughn is an American neuroscientist, model, and musician. Vaughn earned degrees in physics and economics from Stanford in 2008 and currently works at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston in the David Eagleman Laboratory for Perception and Action.

Vaughn began drumming as a teenager and joined Houston alt-rock band, Via Linda, after college. When the band broke up he chose to focus on DJ-drummer formats. Vaughn's science and music worlds collided when he applied his background in perceptual neuroscience to craft his own, custom, LED-lit electronic drum set. Vaughn is also a fashion, commercial print, editorial, fitness, and runway model represented by Page Parkes Corporation. Last but not least, he's a surfer, which seems to be a common pastime of many of our favorite scelebs.

Sceleb | Debbie Berebichez

Image credit: Miller Mobley via Wired
Debbie Berebichez is a physicist and science promotor. Berebichez received her B.A. in Physics and Philosophy from Brandeis University in 1996, a MS in Physics from Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) in 1998, another MS in Physics from Stanford in 2000, and her PhD in physics from Stanford in 2004...the first Mexican woman to do so. She took on two postdoctoral fellowships in applied mathematics and physics and conducted further research at Columbia University's Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics department as well as at New York University's Courant Institute for Mathematical Sciences. She speaks five languages. Berebichez is currently Principal Scientist at ThoughtWorks and TV Host at the Science Channel. We've been fans ever since her oh-so-fabulous The Newtonian Physics of Manolo Blahniks.

Berebichez has topped our Stylish Scientist List for many years and also appears in our Citizens of the Next Century List.

Sceleb | Brian Cox

Brian Cox is a British particle physicist, a Royal Society University Research Fellow, a member of the High Energy Physics group at the University of Manchester where he is a professor, and a frequent host of science programs for BBC radio and television.

Cox studied physics at the University of Manchester, earning an undergraduate, a Master of Philosophy, and finally a PhD in particle physics in 1998. Cox collected some rockstar credentials along the way as well. He played keyboard for the band, Dare, in the 1980s and then joined the rock band, D:Ream, in 1993 which had several UK chart hits, including the number one, "Things Can Only Get Better".

Cox has received many honors for his work and for promoting science. He received the British Association's Lord Kelvin Award in 2006. In 2010 he won the Institute of Physics Kelvin Prize and was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the Queen's 2010 Birthday Honours for services to science. 2011 was a big year for Cox as well, he won Best Presenter and Best Science/Natural History program from the Royal Television Society for the show Wonders of the Solar System and received two awards from the Broadcasting Press Guild Awards for 'Best Performer' in a non-acting role and Wonders of the Solar System was named best documentary series of 2010. Here at Future-ish, we dream of the days when scientists will be rockstars...Brian Cox is already living it!

Design Idol & Sceleb | Neri Oxman

Gracing the June 2009 cover of Fast Company Magazine as one of their 100 Most Creative People in Business is modern science and design diva, Neri Oxman. Although her early studies were in medicine and technology, after a degree in architecture she's now focused her keen mind on the science and design of materials and processes in what she describes as 'materialecology'. When she's not busy as a Presidential Fellow at the MIT Media Lab you might find her preparing for an opening of her artwork at MoMA, chatting with Vogue and Interview for upcoming articles, or lecturing at another major university somewhere in the world. Best of all, her work to improve industrial materials and processes is inspired by nature and ecology which explains why she wins awards in both design and sustainability. A scientist as cover girl leads us at Future-ish to propose two hypotheses: 1. smart is sexy and 2. smart is the new black. Watch out Tyra and Cindy, the era of glamour geeks has arrived.

Sceleb | Lisa Randall

Dr. Lisa Randall is a professor of physics at Harvard University. Her primary areas of study are particle physics and string theory. A theoretical physicist and cosmologist, she is considered by some to be one of the most influential living scientists and her papers with Raman Sandrum on high dimensional space are among the most cited in the field of physics. Dr. Randall has appeared in many scientific television programs and toured extensively to promote her book "Warped Passages". In the February 2007 Discover Magazine, Dr. Randall stepped outside her high dimensional world and commented on her experience traveling in the Galapagos Islands. In a field dominated by men, Dr. Randall is a role model for women throughout the math and science world given her many first. Many insiders joke that she's living proof that you don't have to be a geek to be a scientist.

Future-ish added Dr. Lisa Randall to our PISA List in 2009.

Culture Icon, Sceleb | Vandana Shiva

Dr. Vandana Shiva is a philosopher, ecologist, activist, editor, and author of many books and articles. She earned her MA in Philosophy of Science from the University of Guelph in 1977 and her PhD in Philosophy of Science from the University of Western Ontario in 1978. She is a passionate advocate of socially and ecologically sustainable development having left formal academia when she realized that dominant science and technology seemed to be serving the interests of global corporations rather than society. In particular, Dr. Shiva has focused on issues in agriculture, such as genetically modified organisms, women's rights, and globilization. In 1991, she founded the Navdanya - Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology. Dr. Shiva has lectured extensively throughout the world and has been a visiting professor at the Universities of Oslo, Norway, Schumacher College, U.K., Mt. Holyoke college, U.S., and lectures at York University, Canada, University of Lulea, Sweden, University of Victoria, Canada among many others. In addition to her academic and research contributions, Dr. Shiva has also served as an adviser to governments in India and abroad as well as NGOs such as the International Forum on Globalisation, Women's Environment and Development Organisation and Third World Network.

Future-ish added Dr. Shiva to our PISA List in 2009.

Sceleb | Cynthia Breazeal

Cynthia Breazeal is an Associate Professor of Media Arts & Sciences at the MIT Media Lab and Director of the Robotic Life Group. She is best known for creating the 'animated' and expressive robot Kizmet and her work in robotics continues to bring her understanding of human psychology and interactions to the task of making robots more socially and emotionally human. Breazeal has published many articles, appeared in television shows, and has been featured in several magazines. In September of 2011, Breazeal was named one of the 25 Most Stylish Bostonians by the Boston Globe which makes her one of our newest Glamour Geeks.