EEMB in the News

Bill Murdoch awarded the 2007 Outstanding Service Award by the American Institute of Biological Sciences

Bill Murdoch ... is a population ecologist whose important papers span a more than 40-year period. He has held offices in various scientific societies and is a winner of the Robert MacArthur Award from the Ecological Society of America. His service efforts have helped change the infrastructure of research in ecology and evolutionary biology. He was a participant in the Albuquerque meeting that produced the white paper calling for a center that became the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS). Murdoch led the group that wrote the successful proposal to bring NCEAS to Santa Barbara, served as the first Director, led the search for a permanent Director (Jim Reichman), and served for several years on the Scientific Advisory Board. It's fair to write that NCEAS would look extremely different, and may not have been nearly as successful, had Bill not devoted so much effort over so many years. It's important to remember that NCEAS is not on the Santa Barbara campus, but is a truly independent entity that has catalyzed work that has made an enormous difference in ecological research. Murdoch has also served on a variety of organizations focused on conservation and pest control and currently is a board member of the Nature Conservancy.