MADISON -- Stephen Carpenter, Halverson Professor of Limnology and Professor of Zoology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has been elected the new president of the Ecological Society of America.
Carpenter will preside over more than 7,600 members in the United States and internationally. The Society, considered the country's premier professional organization of ecologists, was founded in 1915 to stimulate sound ecological research.
"Ecologists are being asked to provide forecasts for the future of the world to an unprecedented extent," Carpenter says. "It's time for us to evaluate our ability to do that and move ahead with research which will improve our understanding of the globe."
During his presidential year, Carpenter says he would like to see ESA and its membership make a strong contribution to programs such as the International Program on Ecosystem Change, for which he serves as Chair. He would also like to promote strong participation in an international campaign to assess the world's ecosystems. The Society recently composed a vision for its own future and Carpenter hopes that during his term he can advance some of the projects from that vision.
"When our Visions Committee originally met, we discussed many new resources we could offer to both ecologists and non-ecologists which would help improve human understanding of the Earth's ecosystems. I hope that I can help to be a part of some new projects which will help us achieve that goal."
The Society's goals are to promote, clarify and communicate the science of ecology through reports, journals, research and expert testimony to Congress and other governments. ESA encourages members to responsibly apply their research and ecological expertise to public issues through teaching and public interaction. Members focus on environmental problems such as habitat alteration and destruction, natural resource management, species extinction and loss of biological diversity,
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Contact: Alison Gillespie
alison@esa.org
202-833-8773 ext 211
Ecological Society of America
11-Oct-2000