Nina Jablonski
The Pennsylvania State University, USA

Nina Jablonski is a biological anthropologist whose important contributions have rested on her research on the evolution of human skin pigmentation that accounts for why dark skin evolved under conditions of high ultraviolet radiation (UVR) in the tropics while lighter skin was favored under conditions of lower UVR nearer the poles. Jablonski has written extensively on the fallacy of skin-color-based human races and the pervasive damage done to human societies through the persistence of race concepts. She received her A.B. in Biology at Bryn Mawr College and a Ph.D. in Anthropology at the University of Washington. She is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, and the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Jablonski received an honorary doctorate from the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa in 2010 for her contribution to the worldwide fight against racism.