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Robert E. Ulanowicz (born September 17, 1943 in Baltimore) is an American theoretical ecologist
Theoretical ecology

Theoretical ecology refers to several intellectual traditions. The tradition pursued in universities and scientific journals under the rubric of theoretical ecology addresses the equations and probability distributions that govern the demography and biogeography of species....
 and philosopher who is best known for his search for a "unified theory of ecology". He is Professor of Theoretical Ecology at the University of Maryland
University of Maryland, College Park

The University of Maryland, College Park is a public research university located in the city of College Park, Maryland in Prince George's County, Maryland outside Washington, D.C....
's Chesapeake Biological Laboratory
Chesapeake Biological Laboratory

The Chesapeake Biological Laboratory is a marine science laboratory on the Chesapeake Bay in Solomons, Maryland, and it is the oldest state-supported marine laboratory on the East Coast of the U.S....
. Ulanowicz received both his BS and PhD in chemical engineering
Chemical engineering

Chemical engineering is the branch of engineering that deals with the application of physical science , with mathematics, to the process of converting raw materials or chemicals into more useful or valuable forms....
 from Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University

The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Hopkins or JHU, is a private university research university located in Baltimore, Maryland, Maryland, United States....
 in 1964 and 68, respectively. Dr. Ulanowicz currently resides in Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville, Florida

Gainesville is the largest city in ? and county seat of ? Alachua County, Florida, Florida, United States. Gainesville is also home to the University of Florida, which is the largest university in the State University System of Florida and the List of largest United States universities by enrollment in the United States....
.
owicz uses techniques from information theory
Information theory

Information theory is a branch of applied mathematics and electrical engineering involving the quantification of information. Historically, information theory was developed by Claude E....
 and thermodynamics
Thermodynamics

In physics, thermodynamics is the study of the conversion of heat energy into different forms of energy ; different energy conversions into heat energy; and its relation to macroscopic variables such as temperature, pressure, and volume....
 in order to study the organization of the flows of energy and nutrients within ecosystems. Although his ideas have been primarily applied in ecology, many of his concepts are abstract and have been applied to other areas in which flow networks arise, such as economics
Economics

File:Ballard Farmers' Market - vegetables.jpgEconomics is the Social sciences that studies the Production theory basics, Distribution , and Consumption of Good and Service ....
.

Although Ulanowicz initially began his career with some substantial successes in modeling of ecological systems using differential equations, he soon began to reach the limits of this approach.






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Robert E. Ulanowicz (born September 17, 1943 in Baltimore) is an American theoretical ecologist
Theoretical ecology

Theoretical ecology refers to several intellectual traditions. The tradition pursued in universities and scientific journals under the rubric of theoretical ecology addresses the equations and probability distributions that govern the demography and biogeography of species....
 and philosopher who is best known for his search for a "unified theory of ecology". He is Professor of Theoretical Ecology at the University of Maryland
University of Maryland, College Park

The University of Maryland, College Park is a public research university located in the city of College Park, Maryland in Prince George's County, Maryland outside Washington, D.C....
's Chesapeake Biological Laboratory
Chesapeake Biological Laboratory

The Chesapeake Biological Laboratory is a marine science laboratory on the Chesapeake Bay in Solomons, Maryland, and it is the oldest state-supported marine laboratory on the East Coast of the U.S....
. Ulanowicz received both his BS and PhD in chemical engineering
Chemical engineering

Chemical engineering is the branch of engineering that deals with the application of physical science , with mathematics, to the process of converting raw materials or chemicals into more useful or valuable forms....
 from Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University

The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Hopkins or JHU, is a private university research university located in Baltimore, Maryland, Maryland, United States....
 in 1964 and 68, respectively. Dr. Ulanowicz currently resides in Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville, Florida

Gainesville is the largest city in ? and county seat of ? Alachua County, Florida, Florida, United States. Gainesville is also home to the University of Florida, which is the largest university in the State University System of Florida and the List of largest United States universities by enrollment in the United States....
.

Overview

Ulanowicz uses techniques from information theory
Information theory

Information theory is a branch of applied mathematics and electrical engineering involving the quantification of information. Historically, information theory was developed by Claude E....
 and thermodynamics
Thermodynamics

In physics, thermodynamics is the study of the conversion of heat energy into different forms of energy ; different energy conversions into heat energy; and its relation to macroscopic variables such as temperature, pressure, and volume....
 in order to study the organization of the flows of energy and nutrients within ecosystems. Although his ideas have been primarily applied in ecology, many of his concepts are abstract and have been applied to other areas in which flow networks arise, such as economics
Economics

File:Ballard Farmers' Market - vegetables.jpgEconomics is the Social sciences that studies the Production theory basics, Distribution , and Consumption of Good and Service ....
.

Although Ulanowicz initially began his career with some substantial successes in modeling of ecological systems using differential equations, he soon began to reach the limits of this approach. Realizing that any ecosystem is a Complex system
Complex system

A complex system is a system composed of interconnected parts that as a whole exhibit one or more properties not obvious from the properties of the individual parts....
, he decided to move away from what he saw as the inappropriate use of a reductionist approach, and instead began to work towards development of theoretical measures of the ecosystem as a whole, such as ascendency
Ascendency

Ascendency is a quantitative attribute of an ecosystem, defined as a function of the ecosystem's trophic network. Ascendency is derived using mathematical tools from information theory....
.

Works & Recognition

Ulanowicz has authored or co-authored over a hundred articles in theoretical ecology and related areas of philosophy, especially those dealing with autocatalysis
Autocatalysis

A single chemical reaction is said to have undergone autocatalysis, or be autocatalytic, if the reaction product is itself the catalyst for that reaction....
 and causality
Causality

Causality denotes a necessary relationship between one event and another event which is the direct consequence of the first.While this informal understanding suffices in everyday use, the Philosophy analysis of how best to characterize causality extends over millennia....
. He has authored three books to date.

  • A Third Window: Natural Life Beyond Newton and Darwin, Templeton Foundation Press (2009) (ISBN: 159947154X)
  • Ecology: The Ascendant Perspective, Columbia University Press (1997) (ISBN: 0231108281) - Written for a more general audience
  • Growth and Development - Ecosystems phenomenology, Springer (1986) (ISBN: 0387962654) - A more technical exposition of Ulanowicz's ideas


Ulanowicz was named the recipient of the 2007 Ilya Prigogine
Ilya Prigogine

Ilya, Viscount Prigogine was a Russian-born naturalization Belgium chemist and Nobel Prize noted for his work on dissipative system, complex systems, and irreversibility....
 Medal for outstanding research in ecological systems. He participated in the Stock Exchange of Visions
Stock Exchange of Visions

The Stock Exchange of Visions is a project initiated in 2006 by Fabrica, Benetton Group's research center. It gathers visionaries from diverse nationalities and cultures, who hail from a wide range of specialties, to provide insight into their vision for the future....
 project in 2007.. Ulanowicz was a featured speaker at the 2009 Ill STOQ International Conference entitled "Biological Evolution: Facts and Theories," sponsored by Pontifical Gregorian University
Pontifical Gregorian University

Pontifical Gregorian University is a pontifical university located in Rome, Italy. Heir of the Roman College founded by St Ignatius of Loyola over 450 years ago, the Gregorian University was the first Jesuit University....
, which discussed the impact and effect of the publication of On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin

Charles Robert Darwin Royal Society was an English people natural history who realised and presented compelling evidence that all species of life have evolution over time from common descent, through the process he called natural selection....
.

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