May 11, 2012 9:00 am35 views
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - When anthropologist Susan Mazur-Stommen introduced herself to co-workers at her new high-tech job, she didn't hesitate to confront the elephant - or perhaps the dinosaur - in the room. In a blog post on the website for the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, she wrote, "The popular image of anthropologists has us paddling up the Amazon in search of un-contacted tribes." But Mazur-Stommen is a practicing anthropologist, the kind who uses their training to tackle real-world problems in areas such as health care and international development, typically performing research for corporations such as Intel and Microsoft, or utility companies such as Southern California Edison, rather than the academy.