Nalini Nadkarni


Nalini Nadkarni is an American ecologist who pioneered the study of Costa Rican rain forest canopies. Using mountain climbing equipment to make her ascent, Nadkarni first took an inventory of the canopy in 1981, followed by two more inventories in 1984.

Career

Nadkarni's interest was first drawn to rain forest ecology due to the contradiction offered by its plant life. There was a great abundance and variety of plant life within the rain forest despite its nutrient poor soil, and her goal was to discover how the plant life was sustained. Her studies within the canopy revealed that the epiphytes, which are non-parasitic plants such as orchids and ferns that live on the branches and trunks of other plants, were trapping organic material beneath their root system. This organic material eventually formed a nutrient rich mat, and trees in the rain forest had developed aerial roots, stemming from their trunks and branches, in order to absorb these nutrients as well. The aerial roots growing into the mats aided the rain forest trees by providing the nourishment that they did not receive from the nutrient poor soil.
Nadkarni and her work in the Costa Rican rain forest were featured in the 1988 PBS series, The Second Voyage of the Mimi, starring a young Ben Affleck. She maintains an interest in public outreach, and her work was highlighted on the web page of the National Science Foundation. She is the author of Between Earth and Sky: Our Intimate Connections to Trees and has delivered TED Talks on Conserving the Canopy and Life Science in Prison. She also wrote some text for a book for young explorers entitled, Kingfisher Voyages: Rain Forest, published in 2006. Her work has included developing moss growing techniques with prisoners, as well as bringing artists, like musician and biologist Duke G. Brady, into the forest canopy to write and perform.
An Emeritus Professor at The Evergreen State College, she currently is a professor in the Department of Biology and the director of the Center for Science and Mathematics Education at the University of Utah.
In November 2019, Mattel introduced a new Barbie doll, based on Nadkarni.

Personal life

Nadkarni was born in Bethesda, Maryland, the third child to Moreshwar and Goldie Nadkarni. Her father immigrated to Iowa from Thane, India, and her mother is a Jewish Brooklyn native of Russian and Ukrainian descent. She has three living siblings-sister Saroj and brothers Vinay and Mohan. Another sister, Susheela, died in 1994.
Nadkarni attended Brown University for her undergraduate degree and received a Ph.D. from the University of Washington.
She was a faculty member at The Evergreen State College for 20 years, and in 2011, joined the University of Utah as a Professor of Biology and Director of the Center for Science and Mathematics Education.
She is married to myrmecologist Jack Longino, who is also a professor at the University of Utah. They have two children.

Community Work

Nadkarni is deeply committed to public engagement with science. In 1994, she co-founded the International Canopy Network, a non-profit organization that fosters communication among researchers, educators, and conservationists concerned with forest canopies.
“Part of the scientific enterprise is to disseminate the results of research to other scientists as well as to people outside of academia. However, scientists often receive little training or reward for presenting their results to non-scientists. When they do, most scientists tend to disseminate their information to ‘environmentally aware’ non-scientists via the media or traditional informal science education institutions such as museums and botanical gardens, which are less frequently visited by non-traditional audiences. In 2001, I received a Guggenheim Fellowship to explore the obstacles that scientists face in disseminating their research to non-scientific audiences. My approach was to directly link my research and conservation messages about forest canopies with activities and objects valued by non-traditional audiences. I have designed and implemented projects to raise awareness and inspire these audiences to learn and care more about science, trees, and nature in general.” -Nalini Nadkarni
She has given two TED talks and over 25 endowed lectures around the world.
Her work has been featured in Natural History, Glamour, Playboy, and others, and she has appeared in many television documentaries, including Bill Nye the Science Guy, Good Morning America, National Geographic, and CNN’s The Next List.
Nadkarni has pioneered bringing science education, conservation projects, and nature imagery to the incarcerated. In 2003, she co-created the Sustainability in Prison Program in Washington State, and in 2011, created the Initiative to bring Science Programs to the Incarcerated. These programs bring multiple benefits for inmates, scientists, correctional institutions, and the community.

Books

Nadkarni has written and published two books. Her first book was published in 2002. Between the Earth and Sky details her research and findings on trees. Her second book was , which was a picture book for children that she wrote with in 2006.

Honors and awards

Nadkarni has gained many honors and awards.