- 2005 Kyoto Prize in Basic Sciences
Intro
American ecologist. He is a James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolution and the Director of the Centre for BioComplexity at Princeton University. In 2005, Prof. Levin was awarded the Kyoto Prize in Basic Sciences for “Establishment of the field of spatial ecology and the proposition of the biosphere as a complex adaptive system”.
Education and Work Experience
1964, Ph.D. in Mathematics, University of Maryland
2001-Present, Director, Centre for BioComplexity, Princeton University
2009-Present, Faculty, Quantitative and Computational Biology Program, Princeton University
2016-Present, James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University
Honors and Awards
1988, MacArthur Award, Ecological Society of America
1992, Fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences
2000, Member of the United States National Academy of Sciences
2014, National Medal of Science
Major Academic Achievements
Simon Levin is an ecologist, noted especially for his contributions to the development of the foundations of spatial ecology, for his work on pattern and scale, and more recently for his research at the interface between ecology and economics, especially problems of public goods, common pool resources, and the global commons. His book, Fragile Dominion, along with his subsequent research, weaves these themes together, invoking ecological and Evolutionary theory to inform principles for management practice. He specializes in using mathematical modelling and empirical studies in the understanding of macroscopic patterns of ecosystems and biological diversities. He has built interfaces between theoretical investigations and their application to the management of natural resources, used those applications to stimulate theoretical investigations and the elucidation of general principles for the management of ecological systems.