Experts by Destination: Asia
Carroll Dunham
Medical anthropologist Carroll Dunham has resided in the Himalaya for the past 25 years and currently lives in Nepal. She and her family have spent the last ten summers living with nomads in central Mongolia... More »
Peter Hillary
When Peter Hillary first climbed Mount Everest in 1990, he and his father, Sir Edmund Hillary—who made the first ascent in 1953—became the first father and son to reach the summit. He reached the summit again in 2002 on a National Geographic-sponsored ascent later featured in the film Surviving Everest... More »
Gregory Anderson
National Geographic Society Fellow Gregory Anderson is a linguist and leading authority on endangered languages. As a founder and co-research leader of the Society’s Enduring Voices Project, he works to document, preserve, and revitalize threatened languages... More »
Don Belt
Author Don Belt has traveled to 65 countries over the past three decades, working as a writer and editor for National Geographic magazine. Along the way, he has covered the defining issues of our time such as environmental degradation, vanishing cultures, Islam and the West, the effects of global climate change, and the geopolitical trends that are shaping our world... More »
Ira Block
In the mid 1970's, Ira began shooting for the National Geographic magazine, and later began working with both Traveler and Adventure magazines. His assignments have taken him to locations as diverse as Africa, the Australian outback, the Gobi Desert, Siberia, the North Pole, Greenland, and Baffin Island... More »
Wade Davis
An Explorer-in-Residence at the National Geographic Society, Wade Davis holds degrees in anthropology and biology and received his Ph.D... More »
Sylvia Earle
Marine biologist Sylvia Earle is an Explorer-in-Residence at the National Geographic Society. Named one of Time magazine's "Heroes for the Planet" in 1998, Sylvia has pioneered research on marine ecosystems... More »
Elvira Hammond
Elvira Hammond, a professor of Chinese cultural history at New Mexico State University, has been working, traveling, and studying in China since 1983. She studied Chinese language and modern theater in Beijing and worked for many years developing and leading academic and cultural programs for students of all ages visiting China... More »
Ken Hammond
Historian Ken Hammond first traveled to China in 1982 to study the language and stayed for five years. A professor at New Mexico State University, he directs a Chinese-American university exchange program... More »
Fred Hiebert
Archaeologist and National Geographic Fellow Fred Hiebert has traced ancient trade routes overland and across the seas for more than 20 years. His excavations span the globe, from ancient Silk Road sites in Asia to underwater archaeology projects in the Black Sea and South America... More »
Bill Jones
Bill Jones has led more than 100 trips across Asia and Europe and to destinations as far-flung as Madagascar and Kazakhstan. He has recently specialized in Southeast Asia and Bhutan, where he was given the honorific name Dorje Wangchuk by the Oracle of Minji village... More »
Dereck and Beverly Joubert
National Geographic Explorers-in-Residence Dereck and Beverly Joubert are the award-winning filmmakers and conservationists who established National Geographic’s Big Cats Initiative, a comprehensive program to protect endangered felines worldwide. The Jouberts have been filming, researching, and exploring in Africa for more than 25 years, and their coverage of unique predator behavior has resulted in 22 films, 10 books, and many articles for National Geographic magazine... More »
Bob Krist
National Geographic photographer Bob Krist has shot several articles for National Geographic magazine and more than 30 articles for National Geographic Traveler, where he is a contributing editor. His many assignments have taken him to all seven continents and his images have won awards in the Pictures of the Year, Communication Arts, and World Press Photo competitions... More »
Louise Leakey
Paleontologist and National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Louise Leakey has continued the historic legacy begun by her grandfather Louis S. B... More »
Mireya Mayor
National Geographic Emerging Explorer Mireya Mayor is a primatologist and conservationist reporting on wildlife issues for more than a decade. As a correspondent on National Geographic’s Ultimate Explorer television series, she has gone underwater with six-foot-long Humboldt squids, tracked gorillas in Central Africa, and worked with leopards in Namibia... More »
Jan Nijman
Jan Nijman is the Director of Urban Studies and Master of Pearson College at the University of Miami, where he is also a professor of Geography & Regional Studies. His specialities include geopolitics, economic and cultural globalization, and the history of world cities... More »
Chris Rainier
Chris Rainier is considered one of the leading documentary photographers working today. A National Geographic Society Fellow, Chris is a director of the National Geographic All Roads Photography Program and a co-director of the NG Enduring Voices Project, documenting endangered languages and cultures... More »
Johan Reinhard
Johan Reinhard, an Explorer-in-Residence at the National Geographic Society, is a high-altitude archaeologist. Johan recovered the Ice Maiden, an Inca mummy on Peru's Mount Ampato, a discovery chosen by Time magazine as one of the world's ten most important of 1995... More »
Enric Sala
Dr. Enric Sala is a marine ecologist who fell in love with the sea growing up on the Mediterranean coast of Spain... More »
Jeremy Schmidt
Few people know Yellowstone country better than wildlife biologist Jeremy Schmidt. Jeremy has spent more than 30 years in the area, working as a winter keeper, park ranger, naturalist, photographer, and author... More »
David Silverberg
David Scott Silverberg is an exploration geographer working on conservation projects spanning six continents. His mix of exploration, research, and digital photo-video storytelling has been popular with National Geographic travelers for many years... More »
Paula Swart
Paula Swart is an expert on Asian culture and history, and has been a museum curator for more than 20 years. Her travels have taken her to Vietnam and Cambodia numerous times, including a rail journey that she led from Beijing to Hanoi in 1994... More »
Spencer Wells
Geneticist, anthropologist, and National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Spencer Wells has analyzed the DNA of thousands of people living in isolated tribes around the world. He leads the Genographic Project, a multi-year endeavor to chart the journey of our early ancestors as they populated the planet... More »
