Maria Rita D'Orsogna

Last updated

Maria Rita Rosaria D'Orsogna (born 1972) is an Italian and American applied mathematician and environmental activist. She is a professor of mathematics at California State University, Northridge, where her research interests include swarm behaviour, quantitative methods in criminology, and racial disparities in drug overdoses. [1] She is also known for a successful campaign to prevent offshore drilling for oil near Abruzzo, Italy.

Contents

Early life

D'Orsogna was born in The Bronx, New York, in 1972, to parents from Italy; they returned to Italy when she was a child, and she grew up in Abruzzo. [2] [3]

Academics

D'Orsogna earned a laurea in physics from the University of Padua in 1996, focusing on statistical mechanics and mentored by Attilio L. Stella. After a master's degree from the University of Maryland, College Park in 1998, supervised by Theodore L. (Ted) Einstein, she completed a Ph.D. at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 2003. Her dissertation, Charge transfer in DNA: the role of thermal fluctuations and of symmetry, was jointly chaired by Joseph Rudnick and Robijn Bruinsma. [4]

She became a postdoctoral researcher in chemical engineering at the California Institute of Technology from 2003 to 2004, and then in the mathematics department at UCLA from 2004 to 2007. She took her present position as a professor in the mathematics department at California State University, Northridge (CSUN) in 2007. At CSUN, she also became affiliated with the Institute for Sustainability in 2008. She added an adjunct professorship in computational medicine at UCLA in 2012. [5] At UCLA, she was associate director of the Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics from 2018 to 2021. [6]

Activism

After D'Orsogna learned in 2007 of a plan by Eni to begin offshore drilling near Ortona in Abruzzo, [7] her parents' hometown, [2] she began organizing against oil exploration in the area. By 2010, her campaign had succeeeded both in blocking these plans and in leading to a new Italian law against drilling near the Italian coast and its marine parks. [7] [8] After continued pressure from her campaign, the drilling limits were expanded again in 2015, but in 2022 this led to a large payout to the corporate inheritor of the drilling project, Rockhopper Exploration, who argued that the new limits on drilling caused unfair reductions on their potential future profits. [9] For her efforts, she was named ambassador from Abruzzo to the world in 2014, and has been called the "Italian Erin Brockovich". [2]

Closer to her home, she has also opposed development in Santa Monica, California. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northridge, Los Angeles</span> Neighborhood in California, US

Northridge is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles. The community is home to California State University, Northridge, and the Northridge Fashion Center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California State University, Northridge</span> Public university in Los Angeles, California, US

California State University, Northridge, is a public university in the Northridge neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. With a total enrollment of 36,368 students, it has the second largest undergraduate population as well as the third largest total student body in the California State University system, making it one of the largest comprehensive universities in the United States in terms of enrollment size. The size of CSUN also has a major impact on the California economy, with an estimated $1.9 billion in economic output generated by CSUN on a yearly basis. As of Fall 2021, the university had 2,187 faculty, of which 794 were tenured or on the tenure track.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1994 Northridge earthquake</span> Earthquake in Los Angeles, California

The 1994 Northridge earthquake affected the Los Angeles area of California on January 17, 1994, at 04:30:55 PST. The epicenter of the moment magnitude 6.7 blind thrust earthquake was beneath the San Fernando Valley. Lasting approximately 8 seconds and achieving the largest peak ground acceleration of over 1.7 g, it was the largest earthquake in the area since 1971. Shaking was felt as far away as San Diego, Turlock, Las Vegas, Richfield, Phoenix, and Ensenada. Fifty-seven people died and more than 9,000 were injured. In addition, property damage was estimated to be $13–50 billion, making it among the costliest natural disasters in U.S. history.

Jolene Koester is an American university administrator, economic board member, and author. She served as the 4th president of California State University, Northridge from July 2000 to December 2011, and as the interim Chancellor of the California State University system from 2022 to 2023. Koester holds a Ph.D. in speech communication.

The Cal State Northridge Matadors men's basketball team is the men's college basketball program representing California State University, Northridge. The team currently competes in the Big West Conference of the NCAA's Division I. The Matadors' current head coach is Andy Newman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ana Kasparian</span> American political pundit (born 1986)

Anahit Misak Kasparian is an American political commentator, media host, and journalist. She is a host and producer of the online news show The Young Turks, having begun working as a fill-in producer for the show in 2007. She also appeared on the television version of the show that aired on Current TV. She formerly hosted The Point on the TYT Network and co-hosted a Jacobin YouTube show, Weekends with Ana Kasparian and Nando Vila.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lorraine Foster</span> American mathematician

Lorraine Lois Foster is an American mathematician. In 1964 she became the first woman to receive a Ph.D. in mathematics from California Institute of Technology. Her thesis advisor at Caltech was Olga Taussky-Todd. Foster's Erdos number is 2.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sabina Magliocco</span> American folklorist

Sabina Magliocco, is a professor of anthropology and religion at the University of British Columbia and formerly at California State University, Northridge (CSUN). She is an author of non-fiction books and journal articles about folklore, religion, religious festivals, foodways, witchcraft and Neo-Paganism in Europe and the United States.

Nayereh Esfahlani Tohidi is an Iranian-born American professor, researcher, and academic administrator. Tohidi is a professor emerita and former chair of gender and women’s studies, and the founding director of the Middle Eastern and Islamic studies at California State University, Northridge.

Beverly Grigsby was an American composer, musicologist and electronic/computer music pioneer.

Devonshire Downs, sometimes informally called The Downs, was a horse racing track and multipurpose event facility in Northridge, California. It was located at the southwest corner of Devonshire Street and Zelzah Avenue, east of Reseda Boulevard. The site is now owned by the California State University, Northridge (CSUN), which renamed it North Campus, and leased in part to Medtronic MiniMed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vahdah Olcott-Bickford</span> American guitarist

Vahdah Olcott-Bickford was an American astrologer and guitarist, known as "the Grand Lady of the Guitar."

The 2017–18 Cal State Northridge Matadors men's basketball team represented California State University, Northridge during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Matadors, led by fifth-year head coach Reggie Theus, played their home games at the Matadome as members of the Big West Conference. They finished season 6–24, and 3–13 in Big West play and finished in last place. They failed to qualify for the Big West tournament.

Ann Esther Watkins is an American mathematician and statistician specializing in statistics education. She edited the College Mathematics Journal from 1989 to 1994, chaired the Advanced Placement Statistics Development Committee from 1997 to 1999, and was president of the Mathematical Association of America from 2001 to 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blenda Wilson</span> American academic administrator

Blenda Wilson is a retired American university administrator and educational executive who was the first African-American woman to become president of a large American university. She was president of California State University, Northridge (CSUN) during the 1994 Northridge earthquake, one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history. Wilson oversaw the rebuilding of CSUN over several years, costing nearly $400 million and repairing or rebuilding over 100 buildings on the campus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dianne F. Harrison</span> American academic administrator

Dianne F. Harrison is a retired American university administrator and former social worker. She was the president of California State University, Monterey Bay from 2006 through 2012. In June 2012, she became the fifth president of California State University, Northridge, where she retired in January 2021. Previously, she worked for thirty years at Florida State University.

Magnhild Lien is a Norwegian mathematician specializing in knot theory. She is a professor emeritus of mathematics at California State University, Northridge, and the former executive director of the Association for Women in Mathematics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maria Elena Zavala</span> American plant biologist

Maria Elena Zavala is an American plant biologist. She was the first Mexican-American woman to earn a PhD in botany in the United States. She is currently a full professor of biology at the California State University-Northridge, studying plant development. She is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the first Latina fellow of the American Society of Plant Biologists, the first Latina fellow of the American Society of Cell Biology, and an elected fellow of the Institute of Science. In 2000, she was awarded the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring, which recognises individuals who have increased the participation of underrepresented minorities in their fields.

Chiara Barzini is an Italian writer known for her semi-autobiographical novel Things that Happened Before the Earthquake set in the San Fernando Valley section of Los Angeles in the early 1990s.

Don-Ning "Donna" Sheng is a condensed matter physicist whose research involves two-dimensional systems including the fractional quantum Hall effect and quantum spin Hall effect, as well as the natural emergence of supersymmetry in topological superconductors. She is a professor of physics at California State University, Northridge, and is also affiliated with the Princeton Center for Complex Materials at Princeton University.

References

  1. ↑ Bhaskar, Charlotte (March 22, 2023), Racial disparities in US drug overdose fatalities increased during first year of COVID, UCLA Health, retrieved 2024-11-17
  2. 1 2 3 Venditti, Sergio (December 24, 2022), "Maria Rita d'Orsogna, il talento l'abruzzese che ha conquistato l'America", Il Capoluogo D'Abruzzo (in Italian), retrieved 2024-11-17
  3. 1 2 Ganezer, David (November 8, 2016), "How an Italian Environmental Activist Became a Measure LV Supporter", Santa Monica Observer, retrieved 2024-11-17
  4. ↑ D'Orsogna, Maria-Rita Rosaria (2003), Charge transfer in DNA: the role of thermal fluctuations and of symmetry (PhD thesis), University of California, Los Angeles; see especially vita, p. xiv
  5. ↑ Curriculum vitae (PDF), retrieved 2024-11-17
  6. ↑ IPAM Welcomes Maria D’Orsogna as Associate Director, Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics, June 13, 2018, retrieved 2024-11-17
  7. 1 2 Fisher, Emily (May 11, 2011), Ocean Hero Finalists: Maria D’Orsogna, Oceana, retrieved 2024-11-17
  8. ↑ Holmes, Stephanie (July 17, 2009), "Wine, olives and crude oil", BBC News, retrieved 2024-11-17
  9. ↑ Elton, Charlotte (September 9, 2022), "'No climate justice': Oil firm Rockhopper wins €241m payout after being banned from drilling", Euro News, retrieved 2024-11-17
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.