David Herzog is an associate professor at the University of Missouri School of Journalism, where he teaches computer-assisted reporting. He also serves as the academic adviser to the National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting, a joint program of the Missouri School of Journalism and Investigative Reporters and Editors, Inc. He is managing editor of Uplink, the institute's online newsletter on computer-assisted reporting. He is the author of the book Mapping the News: Case Studies in GIS and Journalism, published by ESRI Press.
Chris Van Gorder is president and CEO of Scripps Health, a nonprofit, integrated health care delivery system with five acute-care hospitals, Scripps Clinic, an ambulatory care network, more than 2,600 affiliated physicians, and a staff of 10,000. Van Gorder is board-certified in healthcare management and a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives. He also is a member of the California Hospital Association board of directors and immediate past chair of the Hospital Association of San Diego and Imperial Counties.
urrently, the Emanuel and Robert Hart Professor of Bioethics, Chair of the Department of Medical Ethics and the Director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
Prior to coming to Penn in 1994, Caplan taught at the University of Minnesota, the University of Pittsburgh, and Columbia University.
Anthony Wexler, an atmospheric scientist at the University of California, Davis, studies how very small particles -- measured in nanometers, or billionths of a meter -- contribute to air pollution and affect human health and climate. Wexler believes the role of these atmospheric nanoparticles is one of the largest unknowns in understanding global climate change. Clouds form when water droplets form around nanoparticles, and the thickness and whiteness of clouds affects how much heat from the sun is reflected back into space.
The increasing number of people without insurance -- an estimated 47 million in 2008 -- and growing health care costs are fostering more interest in and movement toward overhaul of the health care system. At the national level and state levels, dozens of proposals are on the table, offered by candidates, businesses, consumer advocates and many others. The proposals range from national health insurance modeled on Medicare to private market options based on tax breaks. Many policy analysts expect substantial movement on the issue in 2009.
