Andrea Chang
Research Specialty: Primatology and geobiology. I’ve done field work in Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, southern China, Madagascar, and Ecuador.
Favorite Primate: The silvery gibbon. The females sing to mark their territory!
Favorite Hominin: Homo floresiensis. Who doesn’t love the Hobbits? But maybe I’ll change my mind once we start meeting more of them.
Favorite Food: Sayur asem, an Indonesian soup made with tamarind.
Favorite Place to Visit: Vancouver, which is my home but not where I live most of the time. I always miss it when I’m away.
Hobbies: I’m kind of a workaholic, so most of my hobbies are tangentially related to work. I’ve been an archer since Girl Scout camp, I love mountain climbing and skiing, and I try to go on at least one camping trip each year that isn’t related to my research. I also keep a sketchbook, but I’m not exactly what you’d call a good artist.
Favorite Author/Book: Agatha Christie
One Surprising Fact: I’m ambidextrous, but only write in cursive with my left hand and print with my right.
What You’ll Miss Most: My weekly horoscope subscription! J/k (though I will miss that). My family, my friends, and my dog, Cricket. Also blueberry pancakes with maple cream.
Evelyn Willoughby
Research Specialty: Anthropology and genomics. My field work has taken me all over Africa, as well as the Levant and the Arabian Peninsula.
Favorite Primate: Not my area of expertise, but I'm partial to lemurs.
Favorite Hominin: I don't know that I could pick any single species as a favorite, but the one I'm most intrigued by is Homo erectus, since they spread so far across the world.
Favorite Food: The döner kebap sandwich, the best street food in Germany.
Favorite Place to Visit: Costa Rica. It's where my wife and I went on our honeymoon. Beautiful scenery, friendly people, wonderful memories.
Hobbies: Most of my hobbies have fallen by the wayside while training for the mission. But I formerly spent free evenings in the winter crocheting, and summers at a pottery studio or cycling. Everything else is less hobby, more career-related skill, like stone-knapping and atlatl throwing.
Favorite Author/Book: Teaching My Mother How to Give Birth, by Warsan Shire
One Surprising Fact: I competed in poetry slams until heading to university.
What You'll Miss Most: My wife, Pia. Though I'm sure the lack of indoor plumbing will also grow wearying after several months of digging latrines.