Paul Falkowski
Encyclopedia
Paul G. Falkowski is an American
biological oceanographer
in the Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences
at Rutgers University
in New Brunswick
, New Jersey
. His research work focuses on phytoplankton
and primary production
, and his wider interests include evolution
, paleoecology
, photosynthesis
, biogeochemical cycle
s and astrobiology
.
Born in New York City
in 1951, Falkowski was educated at the City College of New York
, where he received his BSc.
and MSc.
degrees. He completed his doctoral thesis
in biology and biophysics at the University of British Columbia
in 1975. After postdoctoral research at the University of Rhode Island
, he moved to the Brookhaven National Laboratory
in 1976 to join its newly formed oceanography
department, and in 1998 he moved to Rutgers University. He received a Guggenheim Fellowship
in 1992, and was appointed the Cecil and Ida Green Distinguished Professor at the University of British Columbia in 1996. He has been elected to a number of learned societies
including the American Geophysical Union
(2001), the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
(2002) and the National Academy of Sciences
(2007). He has also received a number of awards including the Huntsman Award (1998), the G. Evelyn Hutchinson Award
(2000), the European Geosciences Union
Vernadsky Medal (2005) and the ECI Prize (2010).
Falkowski's research work has included studies of phytoplankton nutrient acquisition and the relationships with light of both phytoplankton and corals. He has also studied the biophysical controls on ocean productivity
and export production, and the importance of the nitrogen
and iron cycles
in ocean biogeochemistry
. His research has also drawn in geoengineering
, astrobiology, and the evolution of groups including phytoplankton and placental mammals
. He is also a coauthor of the influential textbook Aquatic Photosynthesis.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
biological oceanographer
Marine biology
Marine biology is the scientific study of organisms in the ocean or other marine or brackish bodies of water. Given that in biology many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land, marine biology classifies species based on the environment rather...
in the Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences
Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences
The Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences focuses on marine science-related education and research. IMCS was founded in 1993 on the Cook Campus at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. IMCS is the home of LEO-15, more formally known as the Long-term Ecosystem Observatory...
at Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
in New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. His research work focuses on phytoplankton
Phytoplankton
Phytoplankton are the autotrophic component of the plankton community. The name comes from the Greek words φυτόν , meaning "plant", and πλαγκτός , meaning "wanderer" or "drifter". Most phytoplankton are too small to be individually seen with the unaided eye...
and primary production
Primary production
400px|thumb|Global oceanic and terrestrial photoautotroph abundance, from September [[1997]] to August 2000. As an estimate of autotroph biomass, it is only a rough indicator of primary production potential, and not an actual estimate of it...
, and his wider interests include evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
, paleoecology
Paleoecology
Paleoecology uses data from fossils and subfossils to reconstruct the ecosystems of the past. It involves the study of fossil organisms and their associated remains, including their life cycle, living interactions, natural environment, and manner of death and burial to reconstruct the...
, photosynthesis
Photosynthesis
Photosynthesis is a chemical process that converts carbon dioxide into organic compounds, especially sugars, using the energy from sunlight. Photosynthesis occurs in plants, algae, and many species of bacteria, but not in archaea. Photosynthetic organisms are called photoautotrophs, since they can...
, biogeochemical cycle
Biogeochemical cycle
In ecology and Earth science, a biogeochemical cycle or substance turnover or cycling of substances is a pathway by which a chemical element or molecule moves through both biotic and abiotic compartments of Earth. A cycle is a series of change which comes back to the starting point and which can...
s and astrobiology
Astrobiology
Astrobiology is the study of the origin, evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe. This interdisciplinary field encompasses the search for habitable environments in our Solar System and habitable planets outside our Solar System, the search for evidence of prebiotic chemistry,...
.
Born in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1951, Falkowski was educated at the City College of New York
City College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York is a senior college of the City University of New York , in New York City. It is also the oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning...
, where he received his BSc.
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
and MSc.
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
degrees. He completed his doctoral thesis
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
in biology and biophysics at the University of British Columbia
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia is a public research university. UBC’s two main campuses are situated in Vancouver and in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley...
in 1975. After postdoctoral research at the University of Rhode Island
University of Rhode Island
The University of Rhode Island is the principal public research university in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. Its main campus is located in Kingston. Additional campuses include the Feinstein Campus in Providence, the Narragansett Bay Campus in Narragansett, and the W. Alton Jones Campus in West...
, he moved to the Brookhaven National Laboratory
Brookhaven National Laboratory
Brookhaven National Laboratory , is a United States national laboratory located in Upton, New York on Long Island, and was formally established in 1947 at the site of Camp Upton, a former U.S. Army base...
in 1976 to join its newly formed oceanography
Oceanography
Oceanography , also called oceanology or marine science, is the branch of Earth science that studies the ocean...
department, and in 1998 he moved to Rutgers University. He received a Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
in 1992, and was appointed the Cecil and Ida Green Distinguished Professor at the University of British Columbia in 1996. He has been elected to a number of learned societies
Learned society
A learned society is an organization that exists to promote an academic discipline/profession, as well a group of disciplines. Membership may be open to all, may require possession of some qualification, or may be an honor conferred by election, as is the case with the oldest learned societies,...
including the American Geophysical Union
American Geophysical Union
The American Geophysical Union is a nonprofit organization of geophysicists, consisting of over 50,000 members from over 135 countries. AGU's activities are focused on the organization and dissemination of scientific information in the interdisciplinary and international field of geophysics...
(2001), the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
(2002) and the National Academy of Sciences
United States National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...
(2007). He has also received a number of awards including the Huntsman Award (1998), the G. Evelyn Hutchinson Award
G. Evelyn Hutchinson Award
The G. Evelyn Hutchinson Award is an award granted annually by the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography to a mid-career scientist within the society's field for outstanding scientific contributions. The award is named for the limologist G. Evelyn Hutchinson.- Awardees :* 1982 Gene E....
(2000), the European Geosciences Union
European Geosciences Union
The European Geosciences Union is an interdisciplinary non-profit learned society open to individuals who are professionally engaged in or associated with geosciences, planetary and space sciences, and related studies.The mission statement of the EGU is "Dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in...
Vernadsky Medal (2005) and the ECI Prize (2010).
Falkowski's research work has included studies of phytoplankton nutrient acquisition and the relationships with light of both phytoplankton and corals. He has also studied the biophysical controls on ocean productivity
Productivity (ecology)
In ecology, productivity or production refers to the rate of generation of biomass in an ecosystem. It is usually expressed in units of mass per unit surface per unit time, for instance grams per square metre per day. The mass unit may relate to dry matter or to the mass of carbon generated...
and export production, and the importance of the nitrogen
Nitrogen cycle
The nitrogen cycle is the process by which nitrogen is converted between its various chemical forms. This transformation can be carried out by both biological and non-biological processes. Important processes in the nitrogen cycle include fixation, mineralization, nitrification, and denitrification...
and iron cycles
Iron fertilization
Iron fertilization is the intentional introduction of iron to the upper ocean to stimulate a phytoplankton bloom. This is intended to enhance biological productivity, which can benefit the marine food chain and remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Iron is a trace element necessary for...
in ocean biogeochemistry
Biogeochemistry
Biogeochemistry is the scientific discipline that involves the study of the chemical, physical, geological, and biological processes and reactions that govern the composition of the natural environment...
. His research has also drawn in geoengineering
Geoengineering
The concept of Geoengineering refers to the deliberate large-scale engineering and manipulation of the planetary environment to combat or counteract anthropogenic changes in atmospheric chemistry The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluded in 2007 that geoengineering options, such...
, astrobiology, and the evolution of groups including phytoplankton and placental mammals
Eutheria
Eutheria is a group of mammals consisting of placental mammals plus all extinct mammals that are more closely related to living placentals than to living marsupials . They are distinguished from noneutherians by various features of the feet, ankles, jaws and teeth...
. He is also a coauthor of the influential textbook Aquatic Photosynthesis.
External links
- Paul Falkowski homepage, Institute of Marine and Coastal SciencesInstitute of Marine and Coastal SciencesThe Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences focuses on marine science-related education and research. IMCS was founded in 1993 on the Cook Campus at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. IMCS is the home of LEO-15, more formally known as the Long-term Ecosystem Observatory...
- Short biography, Royal SocietyRoyal SocietyThe Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
- "Electrons, Life and the Evolution of the Oxygen Cycle on Earth" seminar, MIT World