| 1 | Name: | Dr. Scott Edwards | |
| Institution: | Harvard University | ||
| Year Elected: | 2020 | ||
| Class: | 2. Biological Sciences | ||
| Subdivision: | 203. Evolution & Ecology, Systematics, Population Genetics, Paleontology, and Physical Anthropology | ||
| Residency: | resident | ||
| Living? : | Living | ||
| Birth Date: | 1963 | ||
Scott Edwards is currently Alexander Agassiz Professor, Curator of Birds at the Museum of Comparative Zoology, and Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley in 1992, after which he spent a decade at the University of Washington. Scott Edwards pioneered the application of genomics and population genetic approaches to natural populations of birds. He creatively integrates theory with field, museum, and laboratory research. Edwards has led his field of ornithology into the age of genomics by examining genomic evolution in a setting that applies population genetics, systematics, and natural history to diverse questions. His work has broad generality beyond the target taxa, and he has contributed importantly to both theory and methods. His lab applies cutting edge population genetics to studies on diverse problems in genomics and evolutionary biology. With Beerli he modernized phylogeography. With Liu and Pearl he developed methods that promise to revolutionize phylogenetic analyses of large molecular datasets. He has made extensive contributions to understanding behavioral evolution, speciation, and biogeography of Australian birds. Edwards is a versatile and prolific scientist who has proven to be an effective communicator and a wonderful role model. In 2015 he won the Elliot Coues Award of the American Ornithologists Union. He is a member of the Society of Systematic Biology (president, 2009), the American Academy of Arts & Sciences (2009), the American Genetic Association (president, 2011), and the National Academy of Sciences (2015). Scott Edwards was elected a member of the American Philosophical Society in 2020. | |||