| 1 | Name: | Dr. Estella Bergere Leopold | |
| Institution: | University of Washington | ||
| Year Elected: | 2000 | ||
| Class: | 2. Biological Sciences | ||
| Subdivision: | 205. Microbiology | ||
| Residency: | Resident | ||
| Living? : | Deceased | ||
| Birth Date: | 1927 | ||
| Death Date: | February 25, 2024 | ||
Estella Leopold received her Ph.D. at Yale University in 1955. She was a research botanist for the U.S. Geological Survey from 1955-76, while also serving as an adjunct professor at the University of Colorado from 1967-76. In 1976 she moved to the University of Washington, where she was Director of the Quaternary Research Center until 1982, professor of botany and forest resources, 1976-89, and professor of botany and environmental studies, 1989-95. Dr. Leopold is currently Professor Emeritus of Botany and Adjunct Professor of Geological Sciences. She is a recipient of the Conservationist-of-the-Year Award from the Colorado Wildlife Federation, and the Wilbur Cross Medal from Yale University. She has served on many committees for the National Academy of Sciences, including the paleoanthropology delegation to China in 1975, and has served on the board of the Environmental Defense Fund and the National Audubon Society. She was president of the American Quaternary Association from 1982-84 and is past president and board chair of the Aldo Leopold Foundation. As one of the world's outstanding paleobotanists, Estella Leopold became the first botanist to identify from pollen the North American floras that existed in the Tertiary Period. In her 100 publications Dr. Leopold has concentrated on paleoclimate and evolution of modern forest types. Tracing evolutionary and extinction rates, she discovered that regional floral change has been closely linked with mountain building and volcanism. She established that grassy savanna co-evolved with large, hooved ungulates during the Miocene cooling. At Eniwetok, using fossil pollen from deep-sea cores, Dr. Leopold established proof of Darwin's concept that atolls evolved from sinking volcanoes. She is an active conservationist. Dr. Leopold was elected a member of the American Philosophical Society in 2000. Her most recent book, Saved in Time, was published in 2012. In 2010 she won the Cosmos Prize from the Japan’s Expo ’90 Foundation. | |||