| 1 | Name: | Dr. Paul R. Ehrlich | |
| Institution: | Stanford University | ||
| Year Elected: | 1990 | ||
| Class: | 2. Biological Sciences | ||
| Subdivision: | 203. Evolution & Ecology, Systematics, Population Genetics, Paleontology, and Physical Anthropology | ||
| Residency: | Resident | ||
| Living? : | Living | ||
| Birth Date: | 1932 | ||
Paul R. Ehrlich received his Ph.D. from the University of Kansas in 1957. Co-founder with Peter H. Raven of the field of coevolution, he has pursued long-term studies of the structure, dynamics, and genetics of natural butterfly populations. He has also been a pioneer in alerting the public to the problems of overpopulation, and in raising issues of population, resources and the environment as matters of public policy. He continues to study the dynamics and genetics of natural populations of checkerspot butterflies (Euphydryas), research that has applications to such problems as the control of insect pests and optimum designs for nature reserves. His policy research on the population-resource-environment crisis takes a broad overview of the world situation but also works intensively in such areas of immediate legislative interest as endangered species and the preservation of genetic resources. A special interest of Dr. Ehrlich's is cultural evolution, especially with respect to environmental ethics. Professor Ehrlich is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, a member of the National Academy of Sciences, and a Foreign Member of the Royal Society. He has received several honorary degrees, the John Muir Award of the Sierra Club, the Gold Medal Award of the World Wildlife Fund International, a MacArthur Prize Fellowship and the Crafoord Prize of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (given in lieu of a Nobel Prize in areas where the Nobel is not given) and in 2001 the Eminent Ecologist Award of the Ecological Society of America and the Distinguished Scientist Award of the American Institute of Biological Sciences. Through his book Ecoscience, a standard undergraduate text, and the training of a large squad of graduate students, Dr. Ehrlich has exerted a major influence on environmental biology. | |||