How Scientists Shape Science Itself | Valeria Kleiman | TEDxUF
Valeria Kleiman, Ph.D. highlights the implications of research outcomes based on the diversity of the research team. She paints a picture of how different lived experiences, nationalities, and identities will shift the researcher’s focus and the problems they wish to solve, which then impacts the solutions they may find. Born in Argentina, Dr. Valeria Kleiman received her undergraduate Physical Chemistry degree from the Univ of Buenos Aires, and her Ph.D. from the University of Illinois @ Chicago. After working in National Laboratories in Washington D.C., Dr. Kleiman moved to Gainesville to start her independent professorial career in 2001, where she is currently a faculty in the Department of Chemistry at UF. Dr Kleiman has received
several national and international awards and has been named visiting professor in universities in Spain and Argentina. Her research area of expertise is ultrafast
laser spectroscopy of light-harvesting materials, exploring fundamental studies to understand how synthetic materials interact with light. The goal of her investigations is to understand the intrinsic properties of materials that could be used to improve harvesting of solar light to generate clean, renewable and sustainable forms of energy. Her research work has been primarily funded by the Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation and her work involves collaborations with scientists in the US, France, and her native Argentina. Her scientific and life experiences have led her to pursue new teaching horizons, developing an interdisciplinary course which combines her heritage as a Latina with her chemistry expertise (Chemistry in the Cocina Latina). She is the current academic co-director of two UF programs facilitating student opportunities to take classes and perform research abroad, in more than 10 different countries. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx