Co-Sponsored by UIS Sustainability Committee, Brookens Library,
College of Business and Management, College of Liberal Arts and
Sciences, and Office of the Associate Vice Chancellor for Research &
Innovation
Nalini Nadkarni’s work has taken her from rain forest
canopies on four continents to prison cell blocks across the nation. As
an advocate for inclusive environmental stewardship, her lifelong
concern for trees has allowed her to commune with wildlife like Bill Nye
the Science Guy, corporate executives, and rap singers, as well as more
traditional forest fauna. Her engagement with non-traditional public
groups has fostered two TED talks and articles in journals from Science to Playboy Magazine.
She has innovated hands-on conservation programs that partner with
incarcerated populations. She has conveyed ecological messages into
spiritual discourse through guest sermons to diverse faith-based
congregations.
In her Earth Week keynote address, Dr. Nadkarni will speak about
engaging audiences outside traditional realms of the scientific
enterprise. Her experiences will launch question & answer sessions
to empower students to engage with their broader communities to both
provide and receive information and ideas about our world.