Steven Longmore is a Professor of Astrophysics within the Astrophysics Research Institute (ARI), Liverpool John Moores University, and Head of the ARI’s Astro-Ecology group. He received his M.Phys. at the University of Durham and his Ph.D. at the University of New South Wales. He is also a Research Associate at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. His astrophysics research aims to understand how the Universe evolves over cosmic time to produce the spectacular variety of stars, planets, and life we see today. In particular, he is interested in understanding how clouds of gas in space collapse to form star systems, and how changes in these gas clouds might alter how stars, planets, and ultimately life may evolve. He also has a keen interest in applying astronomical techniques to tackle problems a little closer to home, such as the conservation of endangered species, helping search and rescue teams identify the optimal way to find people, or trying to stop peat fires that are a major contributor to climate change.
Denise Spaan is a Mexico-based National Geographic Explorer, primatologist, and conservation researcher. She is a researcher at the Universidad Veracruzana and a member of the conservation NGO ConMonoMaya, which works to conserve primates and their habitats in the Yucatan Peninsula. Her research focuses on understanding how primates cope with natural and human-induced changes in their habitats. She is particularly interested in how spider monkeys in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula are affected by the expanding tourism industry along the Caribbean coastline. She received her Ph.D. from the Universidad Veracruzana in Mexico and an M.Sc. in Primate Conservation from Oxford Brookes University in the UK.
