Faculty Advisors

Rory Waterman is a professor of chemistry with research interests in inorganic and organometallic chemistry, catalysis, and energy and environmental applications. He also works in professional development on many levels from co-founding the New Faculty Workshop in Chemistry to organizing Project SEED and ARO Research Apprenticeships programs at UVM, experience in helping students and new professionals that he is delighted to share with SACNAS Chapter leadership. His work has been recognized by a variety of awards including named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2020) and American Chemical Society (2019) as well as elected a member of the Vermont Academy of Science and Engineering (2019). His biggest aim in participating as a faculty advisor is to help the Chapter be strong and meet the long-term vision of its founding student leaders.

Dr. Laura J. May-Collado

Laura J May Collado is an Assistant Professor of biology at UVM and a Research Associate at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama. Her research interests are in marine soundscapes and marine mammal communication. Her research involves the use of phylogenies, field observations, autonomous underwater recording systems, and unmanned aerial vehicles to understand the evolutionary and ecological factors shaping the evolution of acoustic communication in marine organisms. In addition to provide students within and outside UVM opportunities for research in marine biology, she also administrates the small-grants-in-aid as the Chair of the Committee of Scientific Advisors Society for Marine Mammalogy and as co-founder of the NGO Panacetacea. Both grants support young scientists from countries around the world where research funding is limited. As an advisor to the SACNA Chapter, her goal is to help the leaders of the chapter to achieve their vision and goals for the chapter.

Dr. Ana Morales-Williams

Ana (“Mindy”) Morales-Williams is an Assistant Professor in the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources at UVM. She is a limnologist with research focusing on the role of anthropogenic disturbance and climate change in algal community assembly, linking fine scale physiological and ecological mechanisms with ecosystem and landscape scale processes. She’s a founding member of the Phycological Research Consortium, which holds annual workshops providing undergraduate and graduate student training and networking opportunities in algal research.  In addition, she serves on the international steering committee of the Global Lake Ecological Observatory Network (GLEON), an organization that facilitates global multidisciplinary collaboration to understand the response of lakes to climate change. Her goal as a SACNAS chapter advisor is to build community and support chapter leadership in achieving their long-term goals.