Ed has experience working in a wide range of environments, time periods, cultures, and settings. His research interests are broad and include project planning, sediments, stratigraphy, stone and bone tools, human evolution, predictive modeling, public outreach, and descendant community engagement. Ed is an active leader of field schools that train participants in both archaeology and Earth sciences in places like Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania, and the Great Plains. His has applied his expertise in areas as diverse as Indiana, Utah, Montana, Ohio, Wisconsin, Illinois, California, and Wyoming, as well as Germany. Dr. Herrmann was the inaugural Executive Director of the IU Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology where he directed the new museum’s concept, design, social justice mission, and research focus while fostering relationships with Native colleagues to provide an Indigenous voice to the museum. During this time, he oversaw the IU Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) Office and worked
with American Indian communities to repatriate IU’s NAGPRA-related collections to associated tribes. Ed also works with the International Commission on Missing Persons.
Serving as a judge and Career Fair Panelist, Sarah Pietraszek Mattner will represent her company, The Science Profession. Sarah has spent over 25 years in the energy and carbon storage industry as a geoscientist, manager and executive in Exploration, Production, Technology, and Commercial roles and has been a hiring manager on several occasions. She has leveraged her experience to become a certified career coach specializing in STEM professionals and career transitions.
Finally, we want to thank our judges, career panelists, the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at Indiana University, and all of those who volunteered their time for the preparation and execution of Crossroads 2026.
