Margaret Boone Rappaport: Author and Co-Founder of The Human Sentience Project

Finding success often involves taking risks. Margaret Boone Rappaport, an author, biologist, cultural anthropologist and space scientist, knows the importance of taking risks and trusting your instincts. As co-founder of The Human Sentience Project LLC, she has used her passion for science to conduct research in the fields of human cognitive evolution, neuroscience, eco-theology, and lunar and space studies. Dr. Rappaport wouldn’t have been able to accomplish all of this if she had not been a risk-taker. 

A Multi-Faceted Education 

Dr. Rappaport’s varied scientific interests stem from her educational background, which continues to inform her career. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in biology from George Washington University in 1968 before pursuing a Master of Education in social foundations of education from the University of Florida in 1970. Even during her studies at each of these schools, Dr. Rappaport knew that she had a keen interest in anthropology. With this knowledge, she earned a Master of Arts in anthropology in 1973 and a Doctor of Philosophy in cultural anthropology in 1977, both from Ohio State University. 

Dr. Rappaport’s Career Before the Human Sentience Project LLC 

Before founding The Human Sentience Project LLC, Dr. Rappaport was a professor of anthropology and sociology at Georgetown University and George Washington University. She taught for 15 years, largely in a part-time role. Dr. Rappaport also served as the president of Policy Research Methods, Inc. from 1986 to 2006. After this closure, Dr. Rappaport decided to pursue fiction writing, exploring poetry, short stories and novels. Eventually, novel excerpts were published as journal articles, including “Religion’s Role in a Martian War of Independence” in Dialog: A Journal of Theology, in 2022.   

In total, Dr. Rappaport has contributed six books, ranging from “Computer Applications for Anthropologists” in 1992 and “Space Science and Astronomy Theatre” in 2017 to "The Human Factor in the Settlement of the Moon: An Interdisciplinary Approach (Space and Society)" in 2021 and "The Emergence of Religion in Human Evolution (Routledge Studies in Neurotheology, Cognitive Science and Religion)" in 2021. These creative works led Dr. Rappaport to engage in speaker and consultant roles from 2007 to 2012, until eventually co-founding The Human Sentience Project LLC alongside astronomer Christopher Corbally, S.J. 

Awards, Memberships and Achievements 

Due to her professional achievements, Dr. Rappaport has been inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society and Pi Lambda Theta Honor Society for education. She also received a Praxis Award from the Washington Association of Professional Anthropologists for applying anthropological knowledge and has been featured as a top professional in The Wall Street Journal. Dr. Rappaport has been a member of the Society for Applied Anthropology and was a chair of the ethics committee at the American Anthropological Association.  

Future Plans for Publications 

In the coming years, Dr. Rappaport aims to publish more books. She and her co-authors are now hard at work on the next book, “Ecotheology Off-World; A Primer for Scholarly and Student Use”.    

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