BIOLOGIST

Rita R. Colwell

1934 - Today

Photo of Rita R. Colwell

Icon of person Rita R. Colwell

Rita Rossi Colwell (born November 23, 1934) is an American environmental microbiologist and scientific administrator. Colwell holds degrees in bacteriology, genetics, and oceanography and studies infectious diseases. Colwell is the founder and Chair of CosmosID, a bioinformatics company. From 1998 to 2004, she was the 11th Director and 1st female Director of the National Science Foundation. Read more on Wikipedia

Her biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Rita R. Colwell is the 1,065th most popular biologist (down from 1,048th in 2019), the 13,311th most popular biography from United States (down from 12,953rd in 2019) and the 179th most popular American Biologist.

Rita R. Colwell is most famous for her pioneering research on cholera and its connection to environmental factors, particularly how climate change affects infectious diseases. She was also the first female director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) (1998–2004).

Memorability Metrics

Loading...

Page views of Rita R. Colwell by language

Loading...

Among BIOLOGISTS

Among biologists, Rita R. Colwell ranks 1,065 out of 1,097Before her are Amos Eaton, Austin Stevens, William Bartram, Sidney Dillon Ripley, Irene Pepperberg, and Storrs L. Olson. After her are Frank Fenner, Severn Cullis-Suzuki, Hugo López-Gatell Ramírez, Eugenie Clark, Pamela C. Rasmussen, and Fanny Hesse.

Most Popular Biologists in Wikipedia

Go to all Rankings

Contemporaries

Among people born in 1934, Rita R. Colwell ranks 564Before her are Mahendra Kapoor, Peter Arnett, John S. Bull, Charley Pride, David Malouf, and June Foulds. After her are Carla Anderson Hills, Carver Mead, Angela Buxton, Willie Toweel, Jerry Nelson, and Bryan Douglas.

Others Born in 1934

Go to all Rankings

In United States

Among people born in United States, Rita R. Colwell ranks 13,315 out of 20,380Before her are Willard Schmidt (1910), Joseph Story (1779), Storrs L. Olson (1944), Rachel Levine (1957), Robby Benson (1956), and Philip Carey (1925). After her are Horton Foote (1916), Ronnie Vannucci Jr. (1976), Rod La Rocque (1898), James Hall (null), Adrian Dantley (1956), and Bob Boozer (1937).

Among BIOLOGISTS In United States

Among biologists born in United States, Rita R. Colwell ranks 179Before her are Jessica Meir (1977), Amos Eaton (1776), William Bartram (1739), Sidney Dillon Ripley (1913), Irene Pepperberg (1949), and Storrs L. Olson (1944). After her are Eugenie Clark (1922), Fanny Hesse (1850), Susan Lindquist (1949), Jerry Coyne (1949), Joan A. Steitz (1941), and Peter Dodson (1946).