stem  lecturer

San Jose State University, San Jose, California

Official Press Bio

Mary Poffenroth is a biology lecturer and fear researcher for San Jose State University. In addition to contributing to Science magazine, Forbes, TEDx and SXSW, she advises growth driven individuals and organizations on how to use science to transform their relationship with fear to improve strategic decision making and increase creativity while cultivating more authentic communications.

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Mary, a Salzburg Global Fellow and first generation college student, holds two masters degrees, one in biology and the other in science communication from Imperial College London, and will be completing her PhD in Media Psychology in 2020. She is the author of Write Present Create: Science Communication for Undergraduates and has taught nearly 20,000 students both in person and online since 2007. She began her research career in astrophysiology at NASA Ames Research Center Moffet Field in 1999 and now focuses her research on the intersection of fear science, communication, and personal/social change.

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