Maria Fadiman facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Maria Fadiman
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| Born | Maria Grace Fadiman July 4, 1969 |
| Occupation | Professor |
| Nationality | American |
| Genre | ethnobotanist |
| Employer | Florida Atlantic University |
| Relatives | James Fadiman (father) Dorothy Fadiman (mother) Anne Fadiman (first cousin once removed) Clifton Fadiman (granduncle) William James Sidis (first cousin twice removed) |
Maria Grace Fadiman is an American scientist who studies how people and plants interact. She was born on July 4, 1969. She is a Professor of Geosciences at Florida Atlantic University. Geosciences is the study of Earth, including its land, oceans, and atmosphere.
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About Maria Fadiman
Maria Fadiman comes from a family of interesting people. Her mother, Dorothy Fadiman, makes documentary films. Her father, James Fadiman, is a psychologist and author.
Her granduncle, Clifton Fadiman, was also a well-known writer. Maria is also a distant cousin of Anne Fadiman and William James Sidis, who was a famous child prodigy.
Her Education and Work
Maria Fadiman went to several universities to study. She earned her first degree from Vassar College. Then, she got her master's degree from Tulane University.
Later, she completed her PhD at the University of Texas at Austin. In 2000 and 2001, she received a special grant from the NSF. She used this money to do important research in Ecuador for her PhD.
Maria Fadiman started teaching at Florida Atlantic University in 2004. Before that, she taught part-time at Sonoma State University.
National Geographic Explorer
Since 2006, Maria Fadiman has been recognized as an "Emerging Explorer" by National Geographic. This is a very special honor!
In 2006, she was one of only eight explorers to receive this award. It shows how important her work is in understanding our world.
What Maria Fadiman Studies
Maria Fadiman is an ethnobotanist. This means she studies how different groups of people use plants in their daily lives. She focuses on cultures in Latin America and Africa.
Her research often takes her to rainforests. She learns about how indigenous peoples (the original inhabitants of a region) use plants. She looks at how plants are used for food, medicine, and other important things.
She also studies how plants affect the economy of these communities. She explores how different gender roles (the parts men and women play) influence how plants are gathered and used.
An Adventure in Life
Maria Fadiman once shared her thoughts about adventure. She said, "I used to think that going to the jungle made my life an adventure."
"However, after years of unusual work in exotic places, I realize that it is not how far off I go, or how deep into the forest I walk that gives my life meaning."
"I see that living life fully is what makes life – anyone’s life, no matter where they do or do not go – an adventure." This shows her deep understanding of life and exploration.
Her Published Works
Maria Fadiman has written many articles about her research. Here are some of her publications:
- 2005, Cultivated Food Plants: Culture and Gendered Spaces of Colonists and the Chachi in Ecuador. This article is about how different groups in Ecuador grow food plants. It also looks at how gender roles affect this.
- 2004, Management, Cultivation and Domestication of Weaving Plants: Heteropsis and Astrocaryum in the Ecuadorian Rain Forest. This work explores how people in Ecuador's rainforest manage and grow plants used for weaving.
- 2001, Hat weaving with Jipi, Carludovica palmate, (Cyclanthaceae) in the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico. This article describes how hats are woven using a specific plant in Mexico.
