Contact:

James Brown, (505) 277-9337 or Steve Carr, (505) 277-1821

May 2, 2001

UNM BIOLOGY PROFESSOR RECEIVES EUGENE P. ODUM AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN ECOLOGY EDUCATION

University of New Mexico Biology Professor James Brown received the Ecological Society of America (ESA) Eugene P. Odum Award for Excellence in Ecology Education. The award was given for a project titled “Scaling of Biodiversity: Physical and Biological Foundations of Ecological Principles,” with UNM biology professor Bruce Milne and Los Alamos National Laboratory physicist Geoffrey West and Brown as co-private investigators.

Brown’s research on biological scaling is a five-year, $960,000 grant funded by The David and Lucile Packard Foundation. The research focuses on one restricted class of emergent phenomena in complex ecological systems: relationships that are self-similar or fractal-like over a wide range of spatial or temporal scales. The so-called scaling relations offer several advantages for theoretical analysis and empirical investigation.

The research can be further described by looking at the relationship between the body size of an organism and its metabolic rate, or energy needs for living. The research has practical use ramifications, particularly in medicine and toxicology. Model systems are used to predict a person’s response to new drugs, changes in environment and or surgical procedures. Inherent in the ability to predict and plan for a variety of responses is the need to understand the scaling of structures and functions in organisms as body size varies.

The award recognizes outstanding contributions in one of the following areas: excellence in undergraduate and graduate teaching and ecology program and curriculum development, including elementary and high school environmental education programs; excellence in ecology outreach programs such as teacher training, adult education, distance learning and virtual laboratories, or the development of ecology programs at nature centers, field stations, other non-formal education centers, and education programs for the general public; and or Excellence in mentoring new young ecologists at the undergraduate and graduate level.

The award draws attention of the discipline as a whole to the education related work accomplished including teaching, outreach and mentoring activities, while relating basic ecological principles to human affairs. The Odum Award is named after the most eminent living professor of ecology. Odum is a Professor Emeritus at the University of Georgia, and has authored several books including the first and leading textbook on ecology, “Fundamentals of Ecology.”

The comprehensive award criteria included a demonstrated excellence in ecology teaching, program development, outreach and or mentoring that serves as a model for others in ecology education, and demonstrated excellence in the following areas: understanding ecological principles and concepts; involvement in scientific inquiry and critical thinking in ecology, knowledge of current environmental problems and ways to help solve those problems; application of ecology to human concerns; development and application of innovative and creative teaching techniques; success in working with students of varied abilities and from a diversity of backgrounds; development and use of innovative and authentic assessment of student understanding and growth; and excellence in ecology education research.

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