Carola Stearns

Carola Stearns is a field geologist and geophysicist with over 40 years of experience enthusiastically sharing her fascination with the Earth and how it works.  She earned a Ph.D at the University of Michigan, has worked in exploration for major oil companies, taught at universities, and maintains a research affiliation with the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology at the University of Michigan.  She has worked with archaeologists on both prehistoric and classical sites around the Mediterranean and in the southwest of the US.  Her diverse research interests include tectonics as well as climatic geomorphology, especially as it relates to human history.  She has lectured as a park ranger at the Grand Canyon, on trips for the UM Alumni Association, and in Ann Arbor training docents for the botanical gardens, arboretum and the public school’s environmental education program.  Currently she works part-time as an interpretive guide in Santa Fe. 

Peter Bobrowsky

Peter Bobrowsky is an archaeologist and engineering geologist with a 40-year career working as a scholar, teacher, researcher, and consultant across the globe. His academic achievements include almost 500 publications, including 20 technical books such as the Encyclopedia of Natural Hazards; Encyclopedia of Engineering Geology; and The Landslide Handbook, which was  translated into Spanish, Portuguese, Mandarin, and Japanese. He is an international fellow of the Explorers Club of New York and a fellow of the Geological Society of America, and has received numerous awards—most notably the Edward B. Burwell Jr. Award for Engineering Geology, the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, and the James Harrison Outstanding Achievement Award.

Among his many prominent international positions, Peter served as secretary general of the International Union of Geological Sciences, an NGO representing some 1 million earth scientists around the world; president of the Canadian Quaternary Association; president of the Geological Association of Canada; and president of the International Consortium on Landslides.

His multi-disciplinary background and extensive travel to more than 120 countries have made Peter a popular lecturer for the Smithsonian since 2004. A born extrovert with an easy-going manner, he strives to understand and explain the crucial links between a diverse and dynamic Earth and the evolution of changing societies through history.

He divides his time between travel adventures and home life on Vancouver Island.

Maya Wei-Haas

Maya Wei-Haas is an award-winning science reporter who writes about all things science with a particular affection for rocks and reactions. She works as a freelancer for a range of outlets, but before setting off on her own she was a staff writer for National Geographic for nearly five years and an assistant editor at Smithsonian digital news for nearly three years. 

Maya holds a BA in Geology from Smith College and a PhD in Earth science from The Ohio State University. She traveled the world in the name of science, scooping ice melt from the top of Antarctic glaciers, hauling up sediments from Svalbard lakes, and monitoring water chemistry in Alaskan rivers. This journey helped her realize that the part of science she loves most is communication. She made the jump to journalism as a fellow for the AAAS Mass Media program. Now she's working to bring these types of adventures and the science that surrounds us to the general public.

Her work was awarded American Geophysical Union’s David Perlman Award for Excellence in Science Journalism (2020) and the American Society of Civil Engineers Excellence in Journalism Award (2021). In addition to science news and features, she authored the solar system section of the National Geographic Stargazer’s Atlas. She is now working on a forthcoming children's book about the amazing things that rocks can reveal with Phaidon Press.

David Silverberg

David Scott Silverberg is an expert in Patagonia geography, geology and conservation biology. Beginning in 2000, he has lived and worked in Patagonia and the Andes directing research and education expeditions in Santa Cruz, Tierra del Fuego, Magallanes, Buenos Aires and the Andes.  Born in NYC, he has lived most of his life in Europe, Asia, Africa and South America, working in over 125 countries.  He is an active explorer and alpine mountaineer for 45 years. 

David received his Ph.D. from MIT and his post-Doc from Harvard University. He is a fellow of the Explorers Club and the Royal Geographical Society.  David is a passionate experiential educator designing, managing and teaching in university graduate and undergraduate field programs in the Andes and around the world for Boston University, University of Connecticut, Humboldt State University, Organization for Tropical Studies, Center for Inter-American Studies, University of Alaska-Anchorage, Semester at Sea-University of Pittsburg, Colorado School of Mines.  He was executive Director of Earthwatch Institute Center for Field Research and was the founding Associate Director for Environmental Programs in the White House for the Commission and then the Corporation for National and Community Service-AmeriCorps.  He experts for 20 years on MIT Alumni Travel, National Geographic Expeditions and Smithsonian Journeys.

David's research, supported by National Science Foundation, National Geographic Society Committee for Research and Exploration and the American Alpine Club, resulted in numerous peer reviewed papers on the formation of mountain regions around the world. His work and lectures explore geographic determinants of culture/history and global change issues of biodiversity loss, land cover change, global warming and ocean changes. He researches the geographic variation of South American and Patagonia literature, art and architecture.  David is fond of the Argentine and Chilean cuisine and lectures on the natural history of traditional Patagonia food. He lectures on the historical social contracts of  Argentina and Chile illuminating the current economic crises and civic discontent.  David is passionate about the challenges and opportunities in the Great Southern Ocean and Patagonia's vast coastal zone and coastal temperate rainforest.  David’s recent photography and journalistic essays on natural and cultural landscapes are published by National Geographic, Corriere della Sera, LaRepubblica, Meridiani Montagne, ARK Landscape Architecture, Archi Espazium. For the last 10 years he lives seasonally in Milan, Italy and Oslo, Norway.

Allen Glazner

Allen Glazner is a geologist, educator and author with particular expertise in volcanoes, tectonics, and mountain building. He believes strongly that understanding the geologic underpinnings of the planet greatly enhances one’s enjoyment of the landscape and everything that lives on it. A native Southern Californian, Allen earned geology degrees from Pomona College and UCLA before embarking on a 38-year career at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he is Distinguished Professor Emeritus.

Field studies have taken Allen to geologic sites all over the world, including Iceland, Alaska, Japan, the Caribbean, South Africa, Mexico, the Canadian Rockies, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, Sicily, Patagonia, Chile, and Argentina.An award-winning teacher, he has led dozens of field trips for groups ranging from the general public to academic specialists, and has trained astronauts and National Park personnel in the field and classroom. In addition to over 150 academic papers, he has coauthored several books for the public including Geology Underfoot books on Death Valley, Yosemite National Park, and Southern California. 

Allen was a runner and now is an avid cyclist and hiker. He enjoys photography, especially landscape, aerial, and 3D-reconstructive. Reading, especially fiction, is one of his sedentary pursuits. See landscape photos and more at allenglazner.com.