| 1 | Name: | Dr. Thomas E. Lovejoy | |
| Institution: | George Mason University; The H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics, and the Environment | ||
| Year Elected: | 1999 | ||
| Class: | 2. Biological Sciences | ||
| Subdivision: | 205. Microbiology | ||
| Residency: | Resident | ||
| Living? : | Deceased | ||
| Birth Date: | 1941 | ||
| Death Date: | December 25, 2021 | ||
Thomas Lovejoy received his Ph.D. from Yale University. He served as program director, vice president for science, and executive vice president of the World Wildlife Fund before his appointment as Science Advisor to the Secretary, United States Department of Interior, in 1993. He later became Counselor to the Secretary on Biodiversity and Environmental Affairs at the Smithsonian Institution, and Chief Biodiversity Advisor and Lead for Environment for Latin America and Caribbean for the World Bank. In 2002 he became president of the H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics and the Environment, and served until 2008. He currently serves as the Heinz Center Biodiviersity Chair. In 2010 he joined the faculty of George Mason University where he has a joint appointment as University Professor in the Environmental Science and Policy Department and the Department of Pulbic and International Affairs. Dr. Lovejoy is the recipient of numerous awards, including Commander, Order of Merit of Mato Grosso, Brazil; the Carr Medal of the Florida Museum of Natural History; the Frances K. Hutchinson Medal of The Garden Club of America; the Global 500 Roll of Honor of the United Nations Environment Program; the John Kimball Scott Award for International Health Leadership of the National Association of Physicians for the Environment; the Spirit of Defenders Award for Science from Defenders of Wildlife; and the 2014 Woodrow Wilson Award for Public Service. He serves on the Board of Directors of the New York Botanical Garden, the American Institute of Biological Sciences, the World Resources Institute, Woods Hole Research Center, the Tropical Foundation and the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew. Thomas Lovejoy is one of the great modern pioneers of modern conservation biology and practice. In the late 1980s he conceived and initiated the Amazonian forest fragment project, "the world's largest biological experiment," which continues as a cornucopia of new information on tropical ecology and species extinction. In his work, among other advances, he discovered the "edge effect" of forest fragmentation, a key factor in ecological change, among other advances. Dr. Lovejoy is also an extraordinary integrator and leader in the intersection of science, government, and education, especially with reference to the global environment. He was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1999. | |||