Professor John Hawks is a paleoanthropologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He earned his Ph.D. at the University of Michigan, where he specialized on the ways we can learn about ancient population sizes from the variation of skeletal remains and genetics. He helped to uncover the recent rapid evolution of human genes in response to agricultural lifestyles of the last 10,000 years, and has examined the ways that ancient DNA can bring to light previously hidden details of the biology of ancient humans. His research has taken him around the world to many of the sites where ancient human remains have been discovered.

Professor Hawks is also a widely known advocate of open science. His blog ( http://johnhawks.net) reaches a global audience with more than 150,000 unique visitors each month. He is working to innovate new approaches to biology education and science literacy both at the undergraduate and high school levels. He is excited about the ways that open access and public engagement can shape the future of science.