Maria Fadiman

Dr. Maria Fadiman is an American ethnobotanist and full professor of geosciences at Florida Atlantic University, specializing in the intersection of science, culture, and conservation. Fadiman earned her AB from Vassar College, her MA from Tulane University, and her PhD from the University of Texas at Austin. She received an NSF grant for dissertation research in Ecuador and has served as a faculty member at Florida Atlantic University for more than 15 years, where she was promoted to full professor in the Department of Geosciences.

Fadiman's research focuses on ethnobotany, emphasizing the relationship between people and plants. She works primarily in rural areas with Indigenous communities and subsistence agriculturalists. Her fieldwork spans the rainforests of Central and South America, the savannas of Africa, Tibet, China, the Philippines, and Oceania. Fadiman documents human-plant interactions, examines sustainability practices, and records traditional knowledge to help preserve it for future generations.

Fadiman has collaborated with Mayan weavers in the Yucatan, studied medicinal plants with the Lacandon people in Chiapas, Mexico, researched alternative livelihoods in Africa for communities dependent on tree poaching, explored natural material house construction in the Philippines, studied Maori use of the Kauri tree in New Zealand, and worked with Tibetan children to document their ethnobotanical traditions.

Named a National Geographic Emerging Explorer, Fadiman contributed to a trilingual book in Kiha, Swahili, and English on plant and tree uses in Africa and recorded details of plants used for ceremonial incense in Tibet. She has also worked in Latin American rainforests with Indigenous communities on sustainable palm collection and in Tanzanian villages near Gombe National Park, recording and analyzing ethnobotanical knowledge and facilitating intergenerational workshops and book projects.

Fadiman has delivered TEDx talks at TEDxBerkeley, titled "Finding Balance: People, Plants, and Culture in the Amazon," and at TEDxCancún, titled "The Intimate Relationship of Plants and People." She is a contributor to the book "Global Chorus." As a fellow of the Explorers Club and a frequent speaker at National Geographic events, Fadiman has presented at the National Geographic Explorers' Festival, National Geographic Live! series, and the National Geographic/American Geographical Society's Global Food and Land Use conference. At Florida Atlantic University, she has received the Innovation in Teaching Award for the College of Science, the Degree of Difference Award for her impact on students, and has twice been a finalist for the Distinguished Teacher of the Year award. Fadiman is recognized for translating complex ecological and cultural issues into accessible narratives, contributing to global conservation efforts.