Fang Jingyun receives the Whittaker Distinguished Ecologist Award
Aug 27, 2019
Peking University, Aug. 26, 2019: On August 12, the Ecological Society of America (ESA) presented the 2019 awards recognizing outstanding contributions to ecology in new discoveries, teaching, sustainability, diversity, and lifelong commitment to the profession during the Society’s Annual Meeting in Louisville, USA. Fang Jingyun, academician from the College of Urban and Environmental Studies, Peking University and Peking University Institute of Ecology, attended the awarding ceremony and received the award from Society’s president. He is also the first Chinese scholar who has won the award.
Fang Jingyun
Robert H. Whittaker Distinguished Ecologist Award was set up by ESA, the world’s biggest and most influential ecological society, in an attempt to commemorate the globally-renowned ecologist Robert H. Whittaker. The Whittaker Award recognizes an ecologist with a doctorate and an outstanding record of contributions in ecology who is not a U.S. citizen and who resides outside the United States. Only one ecologist every year has the honor of receiving the award and therefore it is reckoned as one of the most credible awards in the field of ecology.
Fang Jingyun, a Cheung Kong scholar, professor, and chair of the Department of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences at Peking University, is one of the most renowned ecologists in China. During his career, Fang has played pivotal roles in the advancement of ecology, in informing national and international policy, and in building a scientific community of ecologists in China. He makes significant contributions to the understanding of carbon cycling, biodiversity, remote sensing, and plant stoichiometry. Moreover, Fang has published seven books and over 420 peer-reviewed papers, including 17 key papers in Science, Nature, and PNAS.
Fang, while conducting research on ecology, also pays attention to China’s strategical demand and the prosperity of the society. By far, he has submitted seven reports to the central government and has exerted great influence on the field of science as well as politics through his works.
Written by: Qiu Kanghua
Edited by: Huang Weijian
Source: PKU News (Chinese), Ecological Society of America
