Two ҹɫÊÓƵ faculty members traveled to Washington, D.C., to represent the University at a major centered on exploration, science, storytelling and public education.
Baker Perry, professor of climatology and Nevada State Climatologist, and Zeb Hogan, research professor in the Department of Biology, are attending the National Geographic Explorer’s Festival and the “yellow carpet” opening celebration for the Museum of Exploration. Baker​ and Hogan are two of 11 University faculty designated as . â¶Ä¯
Zeb Hogan and Baker Perry at the National Geographic Museum of Exploration in Washington D.C.“This is an historic event for the National Geographic Society and we are thrilled to be here representing the University,” Perry said. 
Baker Perry at the Rolex Explorers Landing exhibit at the National Geographic Museum of Exploration.​â¶Ä‹â¶Ä‹â€‹ opened to the public on June 26 in Washington, D.C. The museum was sustainably designed and built to bring visitors through immersive exhibits shaped by expeditions from around the world. ​
The museum’s Rolex Explorers Landing exhibit features some of Baker Perry’s high-elevation climate work, connecting visitors to the field research and expeditions behind National Geographic exploration.
Baker Perry presents at the National Geographic Society's event.“It’s an honor to be included in this group,” Hogan said. “There are so many people here thinking about exploration in different ways, and it’s exciting to see how that connects back to the kind of research and collaboration we have at the University.”
Hogan received his first grant from the National Geographic Society in 2000 as a graduate student at the University of California, Davis. National Geographic Explorers, deemed “exceptional individuals in their fields” by the National Geographic Society, receive funding and support from the Society to illuminate and protect our world through their work in science, education, exploration and storytelling. The organization has awarded more than 15,000 grants since its founding in 1888.
"There are so many people here thinking about exploration in different ways, and it’s exciting to see how that connects back to the kind of research and collaboration we have at the University." - Zeb Hogan
This week’s event, and the museum itself, provide a space to share work that helps the public better understand and respond to global challenges. For Perry, that mission connects to years of fieldwork in some of the world’s highest mountain regions, focused on high-mountain precipitation, snow and ice, climate interactions in the cryosphere, and high-elevation weather stations. ​​In collaboration with the National Geographic Society and the Government of Nepal, Tribhuvan University, and Appalachian State University, Perry co-led the ​​National Geographic and Rolex Perpetual Planet ​​Mountain Expeditions that installed the world’s highest-altitude weather station network on the south side of Mount Everest.
Stories from real expeditions like Perry and his team’s on Mount Everest are among the museum’s exhibits. Hogan’s research brings a deeply connected perspective to the museum’s storytelling. Hogan is the director of the Wonders of the Mekong Project and host of the National Geographic television show “Monster Fish.”
His work focuses on endangered species conservation and migratory fish, with an emphasis on some of the world’s largest freshwater fish and the ecosystems and communities connected to them.
11 UNR faculty members are designated National Geographic Explorers
Perry and Hogan are two of the ҹɫÊÓƵ’s 11 National Geographic Explorers, a group whose work ranges from high-elevation climate science and freshwater conservation to Indigenous language revitalization, forest ecology, archaeology and global water sustainability.
Their University colleagues include Franco Biondi, Sudeep Chandra, Hall Cushman, Lee Dyer, Brian Folt, Aaron Koning, Christopher Morgan, and Sandhya Narayanan. Together, their work reflects the breadth of discovery taking place across the University, connecting field research, conservation, storytelling and community impact in Nevada and around the world.
