Carolyn Converse-Cooper can trace her ancestry back to Deacon Edward Converse via the Upstate New York branch of the family. As a senior academic researcher and teacher (Brown, Yale, Harvard, Oxford and Strathclyde Universities – more here) she has extensive experience of the use of modern scientific methods to understand biomedical issues, especially in the area of inherited visual defects. In retirement she is now applying this expertise to the investigation of her own family history, in particular to see how DNA analysis might help resolve some of the mysteries.
Hal B. Whitmore is linked to the Converses through his maternal line, and is author of a recent article on the English origins of the Converse family (Whitmore 2015). He is now a joint coordinator of the Converse DNA project.
Philip E. Converse (1928-2014) is from the New Hampshire branch, with a direct line of descent from Deacon Edward. He was professor emeritus of sociology and political science at the University of Michigan and initiated the Converse DNA project, following on from his comprehensive study of the maternal Eaton branch of his family.
Alan Cooper is a British academic scientist who has no connection with the Converse family other than by marriage. But he does enjoy a good detective story.