Scientist, educator, and humanitarian recognized for her contributions to science education and science diplomacy.
Five-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee. President of the Malta Conferences Foundation.
Human Rights and Peace: A Personal Odyssey
Zafra Lerman's new book covers her extensive work in science education, diplomacy, and human rights.
Teaching Science Through the Arts
Zafra developed an innovative approach of teaching science at all levels using art, music, dance, drama, animation, and rap. These methods proved extremely successful with underprivileged students around the world. In Chicago, she taught homeless students science through dance in a night studio. Many graduated college; two earned PhDs in biochemistry. Over 16,000 students and 1,000 teachers participated in her programs.
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Fighting for Scientific Freedom Around the Globe
From 1986 to 2011, Zafra chaired the American Chemical Society's Subcommittee on Scientific Freedom and Human Rights. After meeting Andrei Sakharov in 1989, she took a crash course in Russian to work with dissidents in the Soviet Union. At great risk to her safety, she prevented executions, freed prisoners of conscience, and brought dissidents to freedom.
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Building Bridges to Peace in the Middle East
Since 2003, Zafra has led Science Diplomacy as a Bridge to Peace as President of the Malta Conferences Foundation — the only platform in the world bringing together scientists from 15 Middle East countries with Nobel Laureates to solve regional problems and forge relationships across chasms of distrust.
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Recent conversations and features about Dr. Lerman's work.