Senior Lecturer at the University of Auckland; Visiting Fellow at the University of Oxford 

Priyanka Dhopade is a 2012 Amelia Earhart Fellow from Canada. After earning her Ph.D. in Australia, Priyanka began her postdoctoral position at Oxford University to work on commercial jet engines. Since joining the University of Auckland in 2020, she has shifted her research focus to sustainable engineering across more disciplines, incorporating space, energy, housing, Indigenous knowledge and equity in engineering. She leads the Sustainable Space Initiative (SSI), a transdisciplinary research initiative focused on systems thinking for sustainability in and for space. I also worked with the NZ PM’s former Chief Science Advisor at the science-policy interface to better inform environmental policy for New Zealand.

Senior Principal Research Scientist, Forecast Quality Team leader in the Australian Bureau of Meteorology’s Research Program

Beth Ebert, a 1983 Amelia Earhart Fellow from the U.S., currently based in Australia, has a long-standing interest in weather forecast verification and evaluation. She holds a science leadership role in the World Meteorological Organization and brought natural and social scientists together to conduct research on improving weather warnings. Beth also works at the nexus of weather and health, contributing to the development of new forecast services for heatwaves, smoke and pollen. In 2017 she was part of a cross-disciplinary team that developed the world’s first early warning system for thunderstorm asthma.