UEA Professor made Honorary Member of the British Ecological Society
By: News Archive
Prof Andrew Watkinson, Emeritus Professor in the School of Environmental Sciences at the University of East Anglia (UEA), has been awarded Honorary Membership of the British Ecological Society (BES).
He’s one of just eight distinguished ecologists recognised at the Society today (24 August) for the positive impact of their work on the scientific community and society in general.
Honorary membership is the organisation’s highest honour, recognising exceptional contributions at international level to the generation, communication and promotion of ecological knowledge and solutions. Current holders include Sir David Attenborough, Dame Georgina Mace, Sir Charles Godfray and Sir John Lawton.
“It is a real honour to receive this award from the British Ecological Society in recognition of my contribution to ecology,” said Prof Watkinson. “I have had a wonderful career, supported by the BES, with a wide range of stimulating colleagues. This has given me the opportunity to work across the globe in places like Australia, Nepal and the Caribbean and on a wide range of species including grasses, corals and geese.
“My initial research was driven by a passion for understanding the population biology of plants and what determines their abundance. Later I helped pioneer interdisciplinary studies on coastal habitats, before becoming a founder member of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research and starting work on the Tyndall Coastal Simulator, flooding and coastal erosion.
“It was this latter work that led me to working at the science-policy interface and becoming Director of Living With Environmental Change, a joint venture between the Research Councils and Government. Currently I am continuing my long association with the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science as a non-executive director and am also Vice President of the British Trust for Ornithology.”
The British Ecological Society is the world’s oldest ecological society, established in 1913 to promote the study of ecology and has around 6,500 members from nearly 130 different countries.
“Our annual awards honour exceptional ecologists across all career stages, recognising their contributions to advancing and communicating ecological knowledge,” said Prof Richard Bardgett, BES President. “I would like to congratulate all winners for their impressive accomplishments.”
The winners will receive their prizes at the Society’s annual conference in December, which will bring together 1,200 ecologists from around 60 countries to discuss the latest advances in ecological research across the whole discipline.
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