1.
Birmingham, Alabama
–
Birmingham is the most populous city in the U. S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Jefferson County. The citys population was 212,237 in the 2010 United States Census, the Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of about 1,128,047 according to the 2010 Census, which is approximately one quarter of Alabamas population. Birmingham was founded in 1871, during the post-Civil War Reconstruction period and it was named for Birmingham, England, one of the UKs major industrial cities. The Alabama city annexed smaller neighbors and developed as an industrial and railroad center, based on mining, the new iron and steel industry. Most of the settlers who founded Birmingham were of English ancestry. From its founding through the end of the 1960s, Birmingham was an industrial center of the southern United States. Its growth from 1881 through 1920 earned its nicknames as The Magic City and its major industries were iron and steel production, plus a major component of the railroading industry. Rails and railroad cars were manufactured in Birmingham. The two primary hubs of railroading in the Deep South have been nearby Atlanta and Birmingham, since the 1860s, the economy has diversified since industrial restructuring in the latter half of the 20th century. Banking, telecommunications, transportation, electrical transmission, medical care, college education. Except for coal mining, the industry has declined in the Birmingham area, Birmingham ranks as one of the most important business centers in the Southeastern United States and as one of the largest banking centers in the nation. In higher education, Birmingham has been the location of the University of Alabama School of Medicine, since that time it has also gained the University of Alabama at Birmingham, one of three main campuses of the University of Alabama System. It is also home to three institutions, Samford University, Birmingham-Southern College, and Miles College. In total, the Birmingham area has major colleges of medicine, dentistry, optometry, physical therapy, pharmacy, law, engineering, the city has three of the states five law schools, Cumberland School of Law, Birmingham School of Law, and Miles Law School. Birmingham is also the headquarters of the Southwestern Athletic Conference, and Southeastern Conference, Birmingham was founded on June 1,1871, by the Elyton Land Company, whose investors included cotton planters, bankers and railroad entrepreneurs. It sold lots near the crossing of the Alabama & Chattanooga and South & North Alabama railroads. The first business at that crossroads was the trading post and country store operated by Marre, the site of the railroad crossing was notable for its proximity to nearby deposits of iron ore, coal, and limestone – the three main raw materials used in making steel. Birmingham is the only place worldwide where significant amounts of all three minerals can be found in close proximity, from the start the new city was planned as a center of industry
2.
University of Alabama
–
The University of Alabama is a public research university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States, and the flagship of the University of Alabama System. Founded in 1820, UA is the oldest and largest of the universities in Alabama. UA offers programs of study in 13 academic divisions leading to bachelors, masters, Education Specialist, the only publicly supported law school in the state is at UA. The school was a center of activity during the American Civil War, the University of Alabama varsity football program, which was inaugurated in 1892, ranks as one of 10 winningest programs in US history. In a 1913 speech then-president George H. Denny extolled the university as the capstone of the school system in the state, lending the university its current nickname. The University of Alabama has consistently ranked as one of the top 50 public universities in the nation by the U. S. News & World Report. In 1818, U. S. Congress authorized the newly created Alabama Territory to set aside a township for the establishment of a seminary of learning. When Alabama was admitted to the Union on December 14,1819, the board chose as the site of the campus a place which was then just outside the city limits of Tuscaloosa, the state capital at the time. The new campus was designed by William Nichols, also the architect of newly completed Alabama State Capitol building, the universitys charter was presented to the first university president in the nave of Christ Episcopal Church. UA opened its doors to students on April 18,1831, an academy-style institution during the Antebellum period, the university emphasized the classics and the social and natural sciences. There were around 100 students per year at UA in the 1830s, consequently, only a fraction of students who enrolled in the early years remained enrolled for long and even fewer graduated. Those who did graduate, however, often had distinguished careers in Alabama, early graduates included Benjamin F. Porter and Alexander Meek. As the state and university matured, a literary culture evolved on campus. UA had one of the largest libraries in the country on the eve of the Civil War with more than 7,000 volumes, campbell, novelist William Gilmore Simms, and Professor Frederick Barnard. The addresses to those societies reveal a vibrant intellectual culture in Tuscaloosa, they illustrate the proslavery ideas that were so central to the university. Discipline and student behavior was an issue at the university almost from the day it opened. Early presidents attempted to enforce strict rules regarding conduct, Students were prohibited from drinking, swearing, making unauthorized visits off-campus, or playing musical instruments outside a one-hour time frame. Yet riots and gunfights were not an uncommon occurrence, to combat the severe discipline problem, president Landon Garland lobbied and received approval from the legislature in 1860 to transform the university into a military school
3.
Harvard University
–
Although never formally affiliated with any denomination, the early College primarily trained Congregationalist and Unitarian clergy. Its curriculum and student body were gradually secularized during the 18th century, james Bryant Conant led the university through the Great Depression and World War II and began to reform the curriculum and liberalize admissions after the war. The undergraduate college became coeducational after its 1977 merger with Radcliffe College, Harvards $34.5 billion financial endowment is the largest of any academic institution. Harvard is a large, highly residential research university, the nominal cost of attendance is high, but the Universitys large endowment allows it to offer generous financial aid packages. Harvards alumni include eight U. S. presidents, several heads of state,62 living billionaires,359 Rhodes Scholars. To date, some 130 Nobel laureates,18 Fields Medalists, Harvard was formed in 1636 by vote of the Great and General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. In 1638, it obtained British North Americas first known printing press, in 1639 it was named Harvard College after deceased clergyman John Harvard an alumnus of the University of Cambridge who had left the school £779 and his scholars library of some 400 volumes. The charter creating the Harvard Corporation was granted in 1650 and it offered a classic curriculum on the English university model—many leaders in the colony had attended the University of Cambridge—but conformed to the tenets of Puritanism. It was never affiliated with any denomination, but many of its earliest graduates went on to become clergymen in Congregational. The leading Boston divine Increase Mather served as president from 1685 to 1701, in 1708, John Leverett became the first president who was not also a clergyman, which marked a turning of the college toward intellectual independence from Puritanism. When the Hollis Professor of Divinity David Tappan died in 1803 and the president of Harvard Joseph Willard died a year later, in 1804, in 1846, the natural history lectures of Louis Agassiz were acclaimed both in New York and on the campus at Harvard College. Agassizs approach was distinctly idealist and posited Americans participation in the Divine Nature, agassizs perspective on science combined observation with intuition and the assumption that a person can grasp the divine plan in all phenomena. When it came to explaining life-forms, Agassiz resorted to matters of shape based on an archetype for his evidence. Charles W. Eliot, president 1869–1909, eliminated the position of Christianity from the curriculum while opening it to student self-direction. While Eliot was the most crucial figure in the secularization of American higher education, he was motivated not by a desire to secularize education, during the 20th century, Harvards international reputation grew as a burgeoning endowment and prominent professors expanded the universitys scope. Rapid enrollment growth continued as new schools were begun and the undergraduate College expanded. Radcliffe College, established in 1879 as sister school of Harvard College, Harvard became a founding member of the Association of American Universities in 1900. In the early 20th century, the student body was predominately old-stock, high-status Protestants, especially Episcopalians, Congregationalists, by the 1970s it was much more diversified
4.
Sociobiology
–
Sociobiology is a field of scientific study that is based on the hypothesis that social behavior has resulted from evolution and attempts to examine and explain social behavior within that context. It is a branch of biology deals with social behavior, and also draws from ethology, anthropology, evolution, zoology, archaeology, population genetics. Within the study of societies, sociobiology is closely allied to Darwinian anthropology, human behavioral ecology. Sociobiology investigates social behaviors, such as mating patterns, territorial fights, pack hunting, and it argues that just as selection pressure led to animals evolving useful ways of interacting with the natural environment, it led to the genetic evolution of advantageous social behavior. While the term sociobiology can be traced to the 1940s, the concept did not gain recognition until the publication of Edward O. Wilsons book Sociobiology. The new field became the subject of controversy. Sociobiologists responded to the criticism by pointing to the relationship between nature and nurture. E. O. Wilson defines sociobiology as, “The extension of population biology, Sociobiology is based on the premise that some behaviors are at least partly inherited and can be affected by natural selection. It begins with the idea that behaviors have evolved over time and it predicts that animals will act in ways that have proven to be evolutionarily successful over time. This can, among other things, result in the formation of social processes conducive to evolutionary fitness. The discipline seeks to explain behavior as a product of natural selection, behavior is therefore seen as an effort to preserve ones genes in the population. Genetic mouse mutants have now been harnessed to illustrate the power that genes exert on behaviour, for example, the transcription factor FEV has been shown, through its role in maintaining the serotonergic system in the brain, to be required for normal aggressive and anxiety-like behavior. Thus, when FEV is genetically deleted from the genome, male mice will instantly attack other males. In addition, FEV has been shown to be required for correct maternal behaviour in mice, Wilson in his 1975 book, Sociobiology, The New Synthesis. However, the influence of evolution on behavior has been of interest to biologists, peter Kropotkins Mutual Aid, A Factor of Evolution, written in the early 1890s, is a popular example. Antecedents of modern sociobiological thinking can be traced to the 1960s, the more general term behavioral ecology is commonly used as substitute for the term sociobiology in order to avoid the public controversy. Sociobiologists believe that human behavior, as well as animal behavior. They contend that in order to understand behavior, it must be analyzed in terms of evolutionary considerations
5.
Epic of evolution
–
According to Taylors Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature, an Epic of Evolution encompasses the 14 billion year narrative of cosmic, planetary, life, and cultural evolution—told in sacred ways. Epic of Evolution seems to have originated from the sociobiologist Edward O. Wilsons use of the evolutionary epic in 1978. Wilson was not the first to use the term but his prominence prompted its usage as the morphed phrase epic of evolution, in later years, he also used the latter term. Naturalistic and liberal religious writers have picked up on Wilsons term and have used it in a number of texts and these authors however have at times used other terms to refer to the idea, Universe Story, Great Story, Everybodys Story, New Story and Cosmic Evolution. It should not be biologized’ as it includes areas of science. In addition, outside of the community, the term evolution is frequently used differently from scientists usage. Even respected dictionaries may present questionable definitions that are not scientific or only address genetic changes, unfortunately it is common for the general public to enter into a discussion about evolution with a wrong definition in mind. This often leads to misunderstanding since scientists are viewing evolution from a different perspective, the same applies to the use of the term theory as used in the theory of evolution. This epic is not a narrative poem but a series of events that form the proper subject for a laudable kind of tale. It is mythic in that it is a story of historical events that serves to unfold part of the worldview of a people. It is a form of myth that has an approach to investigation that is empirical or scientific, according to Joseph Campbell myths serve two purposes – provide meaning for a maturing individual and how to be part of a community. Dr. William Grassie of Temple University writes that the myth in common usage is usually misunderstood. He suggests that the Greek term mythos would be a term to apply to the Epic as it is more all-encompassing. He concluded that there is not yet an interpretive tradition within science, if anything, there is an anti-interpretation tradition. Consequently, this is dangerous as it is a revelation at this time. Grassie says the Epic is complex and multifaceted, not simple or easy to understand and it takes a romantic vision, philosophical rigor, and artistic interpretations. It requires a consilience of modern disciplines and acceptance of social diversity, the ancient wisdoms of the world’s spiritual traditions must be adapted to make the framework to weave the Epic. E. O. Wilson explained that humans had a need for the Epic of Evolution because they must have a story or a sublime account of how the world was created
6.
Insular biogeography
–
Insular biogeography is a field within biogeography that examines the factors that affect the species richness of isolated natural communities. The theory was developed as island biogeography, to explain species richness of actual islands. For biogeographical purposes, an environment or island is any area of habitat suitable for a specific ecosystem. The concept is applied to natural habitats surrounded by human-altered landscapes, such as expanses of grassland surrounded by highways or housing tracts. Additionally, what is an insular for one organism may not be so for others, some located on mountaintops may also be found in the valleys. The theory of insular biogeography proposes that the number of found in an undisturbed insular environment is determined by immigration and extinction. And further, that the isolated populations may follow different evolutionary routes, immigration and emigration are affected by the distance of an island from a source of colonists. Usually this source is the mainland, but it can also be other islands, Islands that are more isolated are less likely to receive immigrants than islands that are less isolated. The rate of once a species manages to colonize an island is affected by island size. Larger islands contain larger habitat areas and opportunities for different varieties of habitat. Larger habitat size reduces the probability of extinction due to chance events, habitat heterogeneity increases the number of species that will be successful after immigration. Over time, the forces of extinction and immigration result in an equilibrium level of species richness. In addition to having an effect on rates, isolation can also affect extinction rates. In addition to having an effect on extinction, island size can also affect immigration rates, species may actively target larger islands for their greater number of resources and available niches, or, larger islands may accumulate more species by chance just because they are larger. 300 million years ago, Europe and North America lay on the equator and were covered by tropical rainforests. Climate change devastated these tropical rainforests during the Carboniferous Period and as the climate grew drier, the theory of island biogeography was experimentally tested by E. O. Wilson and his student Daniel Simberloff in the mangrove islands in the Florida Keys. Species richness on several small islands were surveyed. The islands were fumigated with methyl bromide to clear their arthropod communities, following fumigation the immigration of species onto the islands was monitored
7.
Pulitzer Prize
–
The Pulitzer Prize /ˈpʊlᵻtsər/ is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine and online journalism, literature, and musical composition in the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of American Joseph Pulitzer who had made his fortune as a newspaper publisher, Prizes are awarded yearly in twenty-one categories. In twenty of the categories, each receives a certificate. The winner in the service category of the journalism competition is awarded a gold medal. The Pulitzer Prize does not automatically consider all applicable works in the media, entries must fit in at least one of the specific prize categories, and cannot simply gain entrance for being literary or musical. Works can also only be entered in a maximum of two categories, regardless of their properties, each year,102 jurors are selected by the Pulitzer Prize Board to serve on 20 separate juries for the 21 award categories, one jury makes recommendations for both photography awards. For each award category, a jury makes three nominations, the board selects the winner by majority vote from the nominations or bypasses the nominations and selects a different entry following a 75% majority vote. The board can also vote to issue no award, the board and journalism jurors are not paid for their work, however, the jurors in letters, music, and drama receive a $2,000 honorarium for the year, and each chair receives $2,500. Anyone whose work has been submitted is called an entrant, the jury selects a group of nominated finalists and announces them, together with the winner for each category. However, some journalists who were submitted, but not nominated as finalists. For example, Bill Dedman of msnbc, Dedman wrote, To call that submission a Pulitzer nomination is like saying that Adam Sandler is an Oscar nominee if Columbia Pictures enters Thats My Boy in the Academy Awards. Many readers realize that the Oscars dont work that way—the studios dont pick the nominees and its just a way of slipping Academy Awards into a bio. The Pulitzers also dont work that way, but fewer people know that, newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer gave money in his will to Columbia University to launch a journalism school and establish the Prize. It allocated $250,000 to the prize and scholarships and he specified four awards in journalism, four in letters and drama, one in education, and four traveling scholarships. After his death, the first Pulitzer Prizes were awarded June 4,1917, many people have won more than one Pulitzer Prize. Nelson Harding is the person to have won a Prize in two consecutive years, the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning in 1927 and 1928. Four prizes Robert Frost, Poetry Eugene ONeill, Drama Robert E, in rare instances, contributors to the entry are singled out in the citation in a manner analogous to individual winners. Journalism awards may be awarded to individuals or newspapers or newspaper staffs, infrequently, Awards are made in categories relating to journalism, arts, letters and fiction
8.
Crafoord Prize
–
The Crafoord Prize is an annual science prize established in 1980 by Holger Crafoord, a Swedish industrialist, and his wife Anna-Greta Crafoord. According to the Academy, these disciplines are chosen so as to complement those for which the Nobel Prizes are awarded, only one award is given each year, according to a rotating scheme – astronomy and mathematics, then geosciences, then biosciences. A Crafoord Prize in polyarthritis is only awarded when a committee decides that substantial progress in the field has been made. The prize money, which as of 2015 is 6,000,000 kr, is intended to further research by the laureate. The inaugural laureates, Vladimir Arnold and Louis Nirenberg, were cited by the Academy for their work in the field of differential equations. The first woman to be awarded the prize was astronomer Andrea Ghez in 2012, a Nirenberg was born in Canada. B Grothendieck was born in Germany, but spent most of his life in France and was legally stateless, C Shing-Tung Yau was born in China. D Dziewonski was born in Poland, E Kontsevich was born in Russia. F Eliashberg was born in Russia, the Kyoto Prize Prizes named after people Official website
9.
International Prize for Biology
–
The International Prize for Biology is an annual award for outstanding contribution to the advancement of research in fundamental biology. The prize, although it is not always awarded to a biologist, is one of the most prestigious honours a natural scientist can receive, there are no restrictions on the nationality of the recipient. Gurdon, Motoo Kimura, Edward O. Wilson, Ernst Mayr, Thomas Cavalier-Smith, the International Prize of Biology was created in 1985 to commemorate the 60-year reign of Emperor Shōwa of Japan and his longtime interest in and support of biology. The selection and award of the prize is managed by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, the chair of the committee on the International Prize for Biology is Takashi Sugimura who is President of the Japan Academy. The laureate is awarded a medal,10 million yen. The prize ceremony is held in the presence of His Majesty Emperor Akihito of Japan, the Emperors of Japan have been famous for their special interest in biology. His Majesty Emperor Akihito has strived over many years to advance the study taxonomy of gobioid fishes. Source, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science 1985 - E. J. H. Corner - Taxonomy or Systematic Biology 1986 - Peter H. Raven - Systematic Biology and Taxonomy 1987 - John B
10.
Biology
–
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, evolution, distribution, identification and taxonomy. Modern biology is a vast and eclectic field, composed of branches and subdisciplines. However, despite the broad scope of biology, there are certain unifying concepts within it that consolidate it into single, coherent field. In general, biology recognizes the cell as the unit of life, genes as the basic unit of heredity. It is also understood today that all organisms survive by consuming and transforming energy and by regulating their internal environment to maintain a stable, the term biology is derived from the Greek word βίος, bios, life and the suffix -λογία, -logia, study of. The Latin-language form of the term first appeared in 1736 when Swedish scientist Carl Linnaeus used biologi in his Bibliotheca botanica, the first German use, Biologie, was in a 1771 translation of Linnaeus work. In 1797, Theodor Georg August Roose used the term in the preface of a book, karl Friedrich Burdach used the term in 1800 in a more restricted sense of the study of human beings from a morphological, physiological and psychological perspective. The science that concerns itself with these objects we will indicate by the biology or the doctrine of life. Although modern biology is a recent development, sciences related to. Natural philosophy was studied as early as the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Indian subcontinent, however, the origins of modern biology and its approach to the study of nature are most often traced back to ancient Greece. While the formal study of medicine back to Hippocrates, it was Aristotle who contributed most extensively to the development of biology. Especially important are his History of Animals and other works where he showed naturalist leanings, and later more empirical works that focused on biological causation and the diversity of life. Aristotles successor at the Lyceum, Theophrastus, wrote a series of books on botany that survived as the most important contribution of antiquity to the plant sciences, even into the Middle Ages. Scholars of the medieval Islamic world who wrote on biology included al-Jahiz, Al-Dīnawarī, who wrote on botany, biology began to quickly develop and grow with Anton van Leeuwenhoeks dramatic improvement of the microscope. It was then that scholars discovered spermatozoa, bacteria, infusoria, investigations by Jan Swammerdam led to new interest in entomology and helped to develop the basic techniques of microscopic dissection and staining. Advances in microscopy also had a impact on biological thinking. In the early 19th century, a number of biologists pointed to the importance of the cell. Thanks to the work of Robert Remak and Rudolf Virchow, however, meanwhile, taxonomy and classification became the focus of natural historians
11.
Duke University
–
Duke University is an American private research university located in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the town of Trinity in 1838. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James Buchanan Duke established The Duke Endowment, at time the institution changed its name to honor his deceased father. Dukes campus spans over 8,600 acres on three campuses in Durham as well as a marine lab in Beaufort. The main campus—designed largely by architect Julian Abele—incorporates Gothic architecture with the 210-foot Duke Chapel at the campus center, the first-year-populated East Campus contains Georgian-style architecture, while the main Gothic-style West Campus 1.5 miles away is adjacent to the Medical Center. Duke is the seventh-wealthiest private university in America with $11.4 billion in cash, Dukes research expenditures in the 2015 fiscal year were $1.037 billion, the seventh largest in the nation. In 2014, Thomson Reuters named 32 of Dukes professors to its list of Highly Cited Researchers, Duke also ranks fifth among national universities to have produced Rhodes, Marshall, Truman, Goldwater, and Udall Scholars. Ten Nobel laureates and three Turing Award winners are affiliated with the university, Dukes sports teams compete in the Atlantic Coast Conference and the basketball team is renowned for having won five NCAA Mens Division I Basketball Championships, most recently in 2015. Duke is consistently included among the best universities in the world by numerous university rankings, according to a Forbes study, Duke is ranked 11th among universities that have produced billionaires. Duke started in 1838 as Browns Schoolhouse, a subscription school founded in Randolph County in the present-day town of Trinity. Organized by the Union Institute Society, a group of Methodists and Quakers, the academy was renamed Normal College in 1851 and then Trinity College in 1859 because of support from the Methodist Church. Carr donated land in 1892 for the original Durham campus, which is now known as East Campus, in 1924 Washington Dukes son, James B. Duke, established The Duke Endowment with a $40 million trust fund, income from the fund was to be distributed to hospitals, orphanages, the Methodist Church, and four colleges. Duke thought the change would come off as self-serving. Money from the endowment allowed the University to grow quickly, Dukes original campus, East Campus, was rebuilt from 1925 to 1927 with Georgian-style buildings. By 1930, the majority of the Collegiate Gothic-style buildings on the one mile west were completed. In 1878, Trinity awarded A. B. degrees to three sisters—Mary, Persis, and Theresa Giles—who had studied both with private tutors and in classes with men. With the relocation of the college in 1892, the Board of Trustees voted to allow women to be formally admitted to classes as day students
12.
Thesis
–
A thesis or dissertation is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the authors research and findings. In some contexts, the thesis or a cognate is used for part of a bachelors or masters course, while dissertation is normally applied to a doctorate, while in other contexts. The term graduate thesis is used to refer to both masters theses and doctoral dissertations. The required complexity or quality of research of a thesis or dissertation can vary by country, university, or program, the word dissertation can at times be used to describe a treatise without relation to obtaining an academic degree. The term thesis is used to refer to the general claim of an essay or similar work. The term thesis comes from the Greek θέσις, meaning something put forth, Dissertation comes from the Latin dissertātiō, meaning path. A thesis may be arranged as a thesis by publication or a monograph, with or without appended papers, an ordinary monograph has a title page, an abstract, a table of contents, comprising the various chapters, and a bibliography or a references section. They differ in their structure in accordance with the different areas of study. In a thesis by publication, the chapters constitute an introductory, Dissertations normally report on a research project or study, or an extended analysis of a topic. The structure of the thesis or dissertation explains the purpose, the research literature which impinges on the topic of the study, the methods used. Degree-awarding institutions often define their own style that candidates have to follow when preparing a thesis document. Other applicable international standards include ISO2145 on section numbers, ISO690 on bibliographic references, some older house styles specify that front matter uses a separate page-number sequence from the main text, using Roman numerals. They therefore avoid the traditional separate number sequence for front matter, however, strict standards are not always required. Most Italian universities, for example, have only general requirements on the size and the page formatting. A thesis or dissertation committee is a committee that supervises a students dissertation, the committee members are doctors in their field and have the task of reading the dissertation, making suggestions for changes and improvements, and sitting in on the defense. Sometimes, at least one member of the committee must be a professor in a department that is different from that of the student, all the dissertation referees must already have achieved at least the academic degree that the candidate is trying to reach. At English-speaking Canadian universities, writings presented in fulfillment of undergraduate coursework requirements are normally called papers, a longer paper or essay presented for completion of a 4-year bachelors degree is sometimes called a major paper. High-quality research papers presented as the study of a postgraduate consecutive bachelor with Honours or Baccalaureatus Cum Honore degree are called thesis
13.
Daniel Simberloff
–
Daniel Simberloff is a biologist and ecologist who earned his Ph. D. from Harvard University in 1969. He is currently Gore Hunger Professor of Environmental Science at the University of Tennessee, Simberloff was born in 1942 in Wilson Borough, Pennsylvania, a small town near the Delaware River. As a young child, he collected insects, especially beetles, in addition to his collection of insects, Simberloff also caught and kept salamanders and musk turtles in a basin in his home. He cites being influenced by his uncle, who was a chemist, consequently, he received science books and was taken to science lectures throughout his youth. He moved to New York City at age 11, Simberloff recalls really enjoying all school subjects, math in particular, despite the substandard teaching of the large underfunded city schools. Simberloff received his A. B. from Harvard College in 1964 and he wanted to go to grad school for mathematics, but changed his mind after taking a major biology course as an undergrad. This led to his introduction to Edward O. Wilson, Simberloff became Wilson’s grad student, which began his career in ecology. Simberloff studied and collaborated with E. O. Wilson with many textbooks and this won them the Mercer Award in 1971. He was questioned after his 1976 Science paper, where he contradicted his own theory and he claimed that most of the insect turnover in this assemblage was ephemeral and did not, therefore, confirm the theory. This was interesting in the sense that he was confident enough to question his own theory even after it was widely accepted, Society embraced his island biogeography, and it was used in designing nature reserves. Simberloff questioned the reserves, claiming large reserves aren’t always the best choice, in the early 80’s, Simberloff took on the MacArthurian paradigm of competitively structured communities. He championed the use of models in community ecology. This changed the face of the field. He caused ecologists to question, “what would happen if one mechanism were removed. ”He preached, “rely on the data to tell you how nature operates, don’t simply find the patterns that you’re supposed to find. ”He was instrumental in making the presidential Executive order 13112 on invasive species, and he serves on the IUCN Invasive Species Specialist Group. Simberloff was a faculty member at Florida State University from 1968-1997 before relocating to the University of Tennessee and he is currently a distinguished professor there in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. He directs the University of Tennessee’s Institute for Biological Invasions and his more recent work focuses on the presence of invasive species, and raises the “specter of ‘invasional meltdown’”. At present, Simberloff has a project in Patagonia on the invasion of conifer trees, involving introduced deer, boar. Simberloff has a total of over 350 publications, and he is working on several papers on invasive biology
14.
Donald J. Farish
–
Donald J. Farish, is a biologist, lawyer, and President of Roger Williams University in Bristol, Rhode Island. He was President of Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey from 1998 to 2011 and he is a member of the Missouri Bar. He was named president of Rowan University in 1998 and he is the author of several editions of Human Biology, a leading text in the field, and over a dozen articles in magazines and journals. As president of Rowan University, he led efforts for a 10-year improvement plan, the first phase centered on improvements to campus infrastructure, including construction of Science Hall, Education Hall, and a 113-unit on-campus townhouse complex. Under a controversial agreement, Farish resigned in June 2011, one year before his contract expired in June 2012 and he did not receive the $250,000 in deferred compensation he would have received under his old contract, should he have stayed through 2012. It was announced on March 29,2011 that Farish would become the 10th President of Roger Williams University and he took office in June 2011
15.
Corrie Moreau
–
Corrie S. Moreau is an evolutionary biologist, and entomologist with a specialty in myrmecology, the study of ants. She is currently a curator at the Field Museum of Natural History, Moreau studies the evolution, biogeography, systematics, and diversification of insects and their microbial gut-symbionts using molecular and genomic tools. Moreau received a PhD in biology from Harvard University under the guidance of Dr. E. O. Wilson and she received a MSc from San Francisco State University and the California Academy of Sciences and a Bachelors from San Francisco State University. In addition, Moreau and Charles D, Bell showed that the tropics have been and continue to be important for the evolution of the ants. Moreau was featured in Chapter 13 of Dr. Edward O. Wilson’s 2013 book “Letters to a Young Scientist. ”Wilson writes “There was no bravado in Corrie, no trace of overweening pride, no pretension. ”Wilson goes on to state “The story of Corrie Saux Moreau’s ambitious undertaking is one I feel especially important to bring to you. Moreau was elected a Miller Fellow of the Miller Institute at the University of California and she received two Excellence and Distinction in Teaching Awards from Harvard University’s Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning. In 2015 Moreau was included in 15 Brilliant Women Bridging the Gender Gap in Science, in 2016 Moreau was selected as a Kavli Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences. Moreau was born in New Orleans, Louisiana and she was the subject of a museum exhibit and graphic novel, The Romance of Ants. Moreau, C. S. Bell, C. D. Vila, R. Archibald, Pierce, N. P. Phylogeny of the ants, Diversification in the age of angiosperms. Russell, J. A. Moreau, C. S. Goldman-Huertas, fujiwara, M. Lohman, D. J. & Pierce, N. E. Bacterial gut symbionts are tightly linked with the evolution of herbivory in ants. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA, rubin, B. E. R. Ree, R. H. Moreau, C. S. Inferring phylogenies from RAD sequence data. Moreau, C. S. Bell, C. D, testing the museum versus cradle biological diversity hypothesis, Phylogeny, diversification, and ancestral biogeographic range evolution of the ants. Rubin, B. E. R. Moreau, C. S. Comparative genomics reveals convergent rates of evolution in ant-plant mutualisms. Field Museum of Natural History Myrmecology The Moreau Lab Corrie Moreaus Twitter Video Interviews with Corrie Moreau on YouTube Google Scholar List of Articles for Corrie Moreau
16.
William Morton Wheeler
–
William Morton Wheeler was an American entomologist, myrmecologist and Harvard professor. William Morton Wheeler was born on March 19,1865 to parents Julius Morton Wheeler and Caroline Georgiana Wheeler in Milwaukee, Wheeler attended public school, but he was transferred to a local German academy due to persistently bad behavior, which was known for its extreme discipline. After he completed his courses in the German academy, he attended a German normal school, in both institutions, Wheeler was trained in a variety of subjects, he was given training in languages, philosophy and science. By this time, he could read fluently in French, German, Greek, Italian, Latin, while he was a student at the German academy, Wheeler would frequently observe the old museum of natural history at the institution. Wheeler, who had familiarized himself with the museum since childhood, volunteered to spend the nights in helping to unpack, impressed by his enthusiasm, Ward offered Wheeler a job in his Rochester, New York establishment. His first duties were to identify and list birds and mammals, in 1885, Wheeler returned to Milwaukee to teach German and physiology at a high school. At the time, George W. Peckham was the principal of the school, in which Wheeler, Wheeler collaborated with some of Peckhams published papers by illustrating the palpi and epigynes of spiders, and by assisting him and his wife with their field work on wasps. Wheeler was also under the influence of professors C. O, Whitman and Dr. William Pattern, who were embryologists at the Allis Lake Laboratory in Milwaukee. He was inspired by Pattern to study insect embryology and did so for several years, during this time, Wheeler left the high school in 1887 and become a custodian at Milwaukee Public Museum, a position he held until 1890. He studied embryology at home and after hours, in which he had set up a small laboratory. He left Milwaukee after leaving the museum to assist Whitman at Clark University, at the same time, Wheeler commenced his work on insects and published around 10 entomological papers, which presented himself as a candidate for the degree of Ph. D. After receiving a call from the University of Chicago, Whitman subsequently accepted their offer and he held this position until 1897, where he became the assistant professor in his chosen field. Before he began his duties at Chicago, Wheeler was given a years absence, there, he first spent time at the Zoological Institute at the University of Wiirzburg as a student, and also at the Naples Zoological Station. Enamoured by the fauna of Naples, Wheeler studied the sex life of Myzostoma and his monograph on Myzostoma was published in 1897 by professor E. Van Beneden in the Archives de Biologie. Wheeler returned to Chicago in 1894 and was a teacher of embryology for five years and he continued to publish more papers, half of which involved insects. Wheeler married his wife Dora Bay Emerson in 1898, where they met each other in Chicago previously. In 1899, he was offered the Professorship In Zoology following the death of professor Norman of the University of Texas, there, he took the opportunity to reorganize the department as professor of zoology. He remained there until 1903, but during period was when Wheeler developed an interest in the behavior
17.
Myrmecology
–
Myrmecology is a branch of entomology focusing on the scientific study of ants. Some early myrmecologists considered ant society as the form of society. Ants continue to be a model of choice for the study of questions on the evolution of social systems because of their complex and their diversity and prominence in ecosystems also has made them important components in the study of biodiversity and conservation. The word myrmecology was coined by William Morton Wheeler, although human interest in the life of ants goes back further, with numerous ancient folk references. The earliest scientific thinking based on observation of ant life was that of Auguste Forel, a Swiss psychologist who initially was interested in ideas of instinct, learning, and society. In 1874 he wrote a book on the ants of Switzerland, Les fourmis de la Suisse, forels early studies included attempts to mix species of ants in a colony. He noted polydomy and monodomy in ants and compared them with the structure of nations, Wheeler considered trophallaxis or the sharing of food within the colony as the core of ant society. This was studied using a dye in the food and observing how it spread in the colony, some, such as Horace Donisthorpe, worked on the systematics of ants. This tradition continued in parts of the world until advances in other aspects of biology were made. The advent of genetics, ideas in ethology and its evolution led to new thought and this line of enquiry was pioneered by E. O. Wilson, who founded the field termed as sociobiology. Ants often are studied by engineers for biomimicry and by network engineers for more efficient networking and it is not known clearly how ants manage to avoid congestions and how they optimize their movements to move in most efficient ways without a central authority that would send out orders. Ernest André, French entomologist Thomas Borgmeier, German-Brazilian theologian and entomologist William L. Brown, trager, American myrmecologist Gary J. Umphrey, American biostatistician and myrmecologist Philip S
18.
Ant
–
Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from ancestors in the Cretaceous period, about 99 million years ago. More than 12,500 of an total of 22,000 species have been classified. They are easily identified by their antennae and the distinctive node-like structure that forms their slender waists. Larger colonies consist mostly of sterile, wingless females forming castes of workers, soldiers, nearly all ant colonies also have some fertile males called drones and one or more fertile females called queens. The colonies are described as superorganisms because the ants appear to operate as a unified entity, Ants have colonised almost every landmass on Earth. The only places lacking indigenous ants are Antarctica and a few remote or inhospitable islands, Ants thrive in most ecosystems and may form 15–25% of the terrestrial animal biomass. Their success in so many environments has been attributed to their organisation and their ability to modify habitats, tap resources. Their long co-evolution with other species has led to mimetic, commensal, parasitic, Ant societies have division of labour, communication between individuals, and an ability to solve complex problems. These parallels with human societies have long been an inspiration and subject of study, many human cultures make use of ants in cuisine, medication, and rituals. Some species are valued in their role as biological pest control agents and their ability to exploit resources may bring ants into conflict with humans, however, as they can damage crops and invade buildings. Some species, such as the red imported fire ant, are regarded as invasive species, all of these words come from West Germanic *ēmaitijǭ, and the original meaning of the word was the biter. The family Formicidae belongs to the order Hymenoptera, which also includes sawflies, bees, Ants evolved from a lineage within the aculeate wasps, and a 2013 study suggests that they are a sister group of the Apoidea. In 1966, E. O. Wilson and his colleagues identified the remains of an ant that lived in the Cretaceous period. The specimen, trapped in amber dating back to around 92 million years ago, has found in some wasps. Sphecomyrma possibly was a ground forager, while Haidomyrmex and Haidomyrmodes, older ants in the genus Sphecomyrmodes have been found in 99 million year-old amber from Myanmar. After the rise of flowering plants about 100 million years ago they diversified and assumed ecological dominance around 60 million years ago. Some groups, such as the Leptanillinae and Martialinae, are suggested to have diversified from early primitive ants that were likely to have been predators underneath the surface of the soil, during the Cretaceous period, a few species of primitive ants ranged widely on the Laurasian supercontinent
19.
Biodiversity
–
Biodiversity, a contraction of biological diversity, generally refers to the variety and variability of life on Earth. One of the most widely used definitions defines it in terms of the variability within species and it is a measure of the variety of organisms present in different ecosystems. This can refer to genetic variation, ecosystem variation, or species variation within an area, biome, terrestrial biodiversity tends to be greater near the equator, which seems to be the result of the warm climate and high primary productivity. Biodiversity is not distributed evenly on Earth, and is richest in the tropics and these tropical forest ecosystems cover less than 10 per cent of earths surface, and contain about 90 percent of the worlds species. Marine biodiversity tends to be highest along coasts in the Western Pacific, there are latitudinal gradients in species diversity. Biodiversity generally tends to cluster in hotspots, and has been increasing through time, the number and variety of plants, animals and other organisms that exist is known as biodiversity. It is a component of nature and it ensures the survival of human species by providing food, fuel, shelter, medicines. The richness of biodiversity depends on the conditions and area of the region. All species of plants taken together are known as flora and about 300,000 species of plants are known to date, all species of animals taken together are known as fauna which includes birds, mammals, fish, reptiles, insects, crustaceans, molluscs, etc. Rapid environmental changes typically cause mass extinctions, more than 99 percent of all species, amounting to over five billion species, that ever lived on Earth are estimated to be extinct. Estimates on the number of Earths current species range from 10 million to 14 million, of which about 1.2 million have been documented and over 86 percent have not yet been described. More recently, in May 2016, scientists reported that 1 trillion species are estimated to be on Earth currently with only one-thousandth of one percent described, the total amount of related DNA base pairs on Earth is estimated at 5.0 x 1037 and weighs 50 billion tonnes. In comparison, the mass of the biosphere has been estimated to be as much as 4 TtC. In July 2016, scientists reported identifying a set of 355 genes from the Last Universal Common Ancestor of all living on Earth. The age of the Earth is about 4.54 billion years old, there are microbial mat fossils found in 3.48 billion-year-old sandstone discovered in Western Australia. Other early physical evidence of a substance is graphite in 3.7 billion-year-old meta-sedimentary rocks discovered in Western Greenland. More recently, in 2015, remains of life were found in 4.1 billion-year-old rocks in Western Australia. According to one of the researchers, If life arose relatively quickly on Earth, then it could be common in the universe
20.
Environmentalism
–
While environmentalism focuses more on the environmental and nature-related aspects of green ideology and politics, ecologism combines the ideology of social ecology and environmentalism. ‘Ecologism’ is more used in continental European languages while ‘environmentalism’ is more commonly used in English. For this reason, concepts such as an ethic, environmental ethics, biodiversity, ecology. The exact measures and outcomes of this balance is controversial and there are different ways for environmental concerns to be expressed in practice. Environmentalism and environmental concerns are represented by the color green. Environmentalism denotes a movement that seeks to influence the political process by lobbying, activism. The word was first coined in 1922, an environmentalist is a person who may speak out about our natural environment and the sustainable management of its resources through changes in public policy or individual behavior. In various ways, environmentalists and environmental organizations seek to give the world a stronger voice in human affairs. In general terms, environmentalists advocate the sustainable management of resources, in its recognition of humanity as a participant in ecosystems, the movement is centered around ecology, health, and human rights. A concern for environmental protection has recurred in diverse forms, in different parts of the world, for example, in Europe, King Edward I of England banned the burning of sea-coal by proclamation in London in 1272, after its smoke had become a problem. The fuel was so common in England that this earliest of names for it was acquired because it could be carted away from some shores by the wheelbarrow. Earlier in the Middle East, the Caliph Abu Bakr in the 630s commanded his army to Bring no harm to the trees, nor burn them with fire, at the advent of steam and electricity the muse of history holds her nose and shuts her eyes. The origins of the movement lay in the response to increasing levels of smoke pollution in the atmosphere during the Industrial Revolution. An Alkali inspector and four sub-inspectors were appointed to curb this pollution, typically the highest priority went to water and air pollution. The Coal Smoke Abatement Society was formed in 1898 making it one of the oldest environmental NGOs and it was founded by artist Sir William Blake Richmond, frustrated with the pall cast by coal smoke. Although there were pieces of legislation, the Public Health Act 1875 required all furnaces and fireplaces to consume their own smoke. It also provided for sanctions against factories that emitted large amounts of black smoke, financial incentives were offered to householders to replace open coal fires with alternatives, or for those who preferred, to burn coke instead which produces minimal smoke. Smoke control areas were introduced in some towns and cities in which only smokeless fuels could be burnt, the act formed an important impetus to modern environmentalism, and caused a rethinking of the dangers of environmental degradation to peoples quality of life
21.
Secular humanism
–
Secular humanism posits that human beings are capable of being ethical and moral without religion or a god. It does not, however, assume that humans are inherently evil or innately good. Rather, the humanist life stance emphasizes the unique responsibility facing humanity, along with this, an essential part of secular humanism is a continually adapting search for truth, primarily through science and philosophy. Many secular humanists derive their moral codes from a philosophy of utilitarianism, ethical naturalism, or evolutionary ethics, the Happy Human is the official symbol of the IHEU as well as being regarded as a universally recognised symbol for those who call themselves Humanists. Secular humanist organizations are found in all parts of the world and those who call themselves humanists are estimated to number between four and five million people worldwide. The meaning of the phrase secular humanism has evolved over time, the phrase has been used since at least the 1930s, and in 1943, the then Archbishop of Canterbury, William Temple, was reported as warning that the Christian tradition. Was in danger of being undermined by a Secular Humanism which hoped to retain Christian values without Christian faith, the release in 1980 of A Secular Humanist Declaration by the newly formed Council for Democratic and Secular Humanism gave secular humanism an organisational identity within the United States. However, many adherents of the approach reject the use of the secular as obfuscating and confusing. All too often secular humanism is reduced to a sterile outlook consisting of more than secularism slightly broadened by academic ethics. This kind of hyphenated humanism easily becomes more about the adjective than its referent, adherents of this view, including the International Humanist and Ethical Union and the American Humanist Association, consider that the unmodified but capitalised word Humanism should be used. The endorsement by the IHEU of the capitalization of the word Humanism, the American Humanist Association began to adopt this view in 1973, and the IHEU formally endorsed the position in 1989. In 2002 the IHEU General Assembly unanimously adopted the Amsterdam Declaration and this declaration makes exclusive use of capitalized Humanist and Humanism, which is consistent with IHEUs general practice and recommendations for promoting a unified Humanist identity. To further promote Humanist identity, these words are also free of any adjectives, such usage is not universal among IHEU member organizations, though most of them do observe these conventions. Historical use of the humanism, is related to the writings of pre-Socratic philosophers. These writings were lost to European societies until Renaissance scholars rediscovered them through Muslim sources, in 1851 George Holyoake coined the term secularism to describe a form of opinion which concerns itself only with questions, the issues of which can be tested by the experience of this life. The modern secular movement coalesced around Holyoake, Charles Bradlaugh and their intellectual circle, the first secular society, the Leicester Secular Society, dates from 1851. Similar regional societies came together to form the National Secular Society in 1866, holyoakes secularism was strongly influenced by Auguste Comte, the founder of positivism and of modern sociology. Comte believed human history would progress in a law of three stages from a phase, to the metaphysical, toward a fully rational positivist society
22.
Deism
–
Deism is a philosophical position which posits that a god does not interfere directly with the world. Deism gained prominence among intellectuals during the Age of Enlightenment, especially in Britain, France, Germany, included in those influenced by its ideas were leaders of the American and French Revolutions. These lead to many subdivisions of modern deism which tends, therefore, Deism is a theological theory concerning the relationship between the Creator and the natural world. Deistic viewpoints emerged during the revolution of 17th Century Europe. Deism stood between the narrow dogmatism of the period and skepticism, though deists rejected atheism, they often were called atheists by more traditional theists. There were a number of different forms in the 17th and 18th Centuries, in England, deism included a range of people from anti-Christian to non-Christian theists. See the section Features of deism, following, Deism is related to naturalism because it credits the formation of life and the universe to a higher power, using only natural processes. Deism may also include an element, involving experiences of God. The words deism and theism are both derived from words for god, the former from Latin deus, the latter from Greek theós, prior to the 17th Century the terms were used interchangeably with the terms theism and theist, respectively. Theologians and philosophers of the 17th Century began to give a different signification to the words, both asserted belief in one supreme God, the Creator. Perhaps the first use of the term deist is in Pierre Virets Instruction Chrétienne en la doctrine de la foi et de lÉvangile, Viret, a Calvinist, regarded deism as a new form of Italian heresy. I have heard there are of this band those who call themselves Deists, an entirely new word. In England, the term deist first appeared in Robert Burtons The Anatomy of Melancholy, Lord Herbert of Cherbury is generally considered the father of English Deism, and his book De Veritate the first major statement of deism. Deism flourished in England between 1690 and 1740, at which time Matthew Tindals Christianity as Old as the Creation, also called The Deists Bible, later deism spread to France, notably through the work of Voltaire, to Germany, and to the United States. The concept of deism covers a variety of positions on a wide variety of religious issues. Sir Leslie Stephens English Thought in the Eighteenth Century describes the core of deism as consisting of critical and constructional elements, critical elements of deist thought included, Rejection of religions that are based on books that claim to contain the revealed word of God. Rejection of religious dogma and demagogy, Skepticism of reports of miracles, prophecies and religious mysteries. Constructional elements of deist thought included, God exists and created the universe, God gave humans the ability to reason
23.
Robert H. MacArthur
–
Robert Helmer MacArthur was a Canadian-born American ecologist who made a major impact on many areas of community and population ecology. MacArthur was born in Toronto, Canada, and later moved to Marlboro, Vermont as his father, John Wood MacArthur, MacArthur received his Bachelors degree in mathematics from Marlboro College, followed by a Masters degree in mathematics from Brown University in 1953. MacArthur was a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, 1958–65 and his emphasis on hypothesis testing helped change ecology from a primarily descriptive field into an experimental field, and drove the development of theoretical ecology. At Princeton, MacArthur served as the editor of the series Monographs in Population Biology. He also wrote Geographical Ecology, Patterns in the Distribution of Species and he was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1969. Robert MacArthur died of cancer in 1972. Island biogeography Optimal foraging theory Robert H. MacArthur Award Fretwell, the Impact of Robert MacArthur on Ecology. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 6, 1-13 Pianka, E. R. and Horn, chapter 11 in K. Cuddington and B. Ecological Paradigms Lost, Routes of Theory Change, Robert H. MacArthur bibliography National Academy of Sciences Biographical Memoir
24.
Unified neutral theory of biodiversity
–
The unified neutral theory of biodiversity and biogeography is a hypothesis and the title of a monograph by ecologist Stephen Hubbell. This implies that biodiversity arises at random, as each species follows a random walk, the hypothesis has sparked controversy, and some authors consider it a more complex version of other null models that fit the data better. Neutrality means that at a given level in a food web, species are equivalent in birth rates, death rates, dispersal rates and speciation rates. This can be considered a hypothesis to niche theory. Hubbell built on earlier concepts, including MacArthur & Wilsons theory of island biogeography and Goulds concepts of symmetry. An ecological community is a group of similar, sympatric species that actually or potentially compete in a local area for the same or similar resources. Under the Unified Theory, complex ecological interactions are permitted among individuals of an ecological community, the Unified Theory also makes predictions that have profound implications for the management of biodiversity, especially the management of rare species. The theory predicts the existence of a fundamental biodiversity constant, conventionally written θ, although not strictly necessary for a neutral theory, many stochastic models of biodiversity assume a fixed, finite community size. There are unavoidable physical constraints on the number of individuals that can be packed into a given space. If a wide range of species is considered, then the assumption of constant community size might not be very good, because density would be higher if the smaller species were monodominant. However, because the Unified Theory refers only to communities of similar, competing species. Hubbell considers the fact that population densities are constant and interprets it as a general principle, such observations typically generate a large number of questions. Why are the rare species rare, why is the most abundant species so much more abundant than the median species abundance. A non neutral explanation for the rarity of rare species might suggest that rarity is a result of adaptation to local conditions. The UNTB implies that such considerations may be neglected from the perspective of population biology, species composition in any community will change randomly with time. However, any particular abundance structure will have an associated probability, θ S1 ϕ12 ϕ2 ⋯ J ϕ J ϕ1. ⋯ ϕ J. Π k =1 J where θ =2 J ν is the fundamental biodiversity number and this equation shows that the UNTB implies a nontrivial dominance-diversity equilibrium between speciation and extinction. As an example, consider a community with 10 individuals and three species a, b, and c with abundances 3,6 and 1 respectively, then the formula above would allow us to assess the likelihood of different values of θ
25.
Joseph Pellegrino University Professor
–
The University Professorship is Harvards most distinguished professorial post. This honor was created in 1935 by Harvards President and Fellows for individuals of distinction, working on the frontiers of knowledge, and in such a way as to cross the conventional boundaries of the specialties. The number of University Professors has increased with new endowed gifts to the university, in 2006, there were 21 University Professors at Harvard. As of 2014, there are 24 Harvard University Professors, eliot University Professor - Lawrence H. Summers John Franklin Enders University Professor - Marc Kirschner Alphonse Fletcher University Professor - Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Woodford L. flowers University Professor - George M. Whitesides Gerhard Gade University Professor - Barry C
26.
Committee for Skeptical Inquiry
–
Its philosophical position is one of scientific skepticism. CSIs fellows have included notable scientists, Nobel laureates, philosophers, psychologists and it is headquartered in Amherst, New York. In the early 1970s, there was an upsurge of interest in the paranormal in the United States and this generated concern in some quarters, where it was seen as part of a growing tide of irrationalism. According to Kurtz, the statement was sent to every newspaper in the United States, Kurtz, Randi, Gardner and Hyman took seats on the executive board. CSICOP was officially launched at a specially convened conference of the AHA on April 30, CSICOP would be funded with donations and sales of their magazine, Skeptical Inquirer. The formal mission statement, approved in 2006 and still current, the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry promotes science and scientific inquiry, critical thinking, science education, and the use of reason in examining important issues. A shorter version of the statement appears in every issue. Promotes scientific inquiry, critical investigation, and the use of reason in examining controversial, a history of the first two decades is available in The Encyclopedia of the Paranormal published in 1998 by S. I. editor Kendrick Frazier. Paul Kurtz was inspired by the 1949 Belgian organization Comité Para, the initial acronym, CSICP was difficult to pronounce and so was changed to CSICOP. According to James Alcock, it was never intended to be Psi Cop, in November 2006, CSICOP further shortened its name to Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, pronounced C-S-I. An axiom often repeated among CSI members is the quote from Carl Sagan. Based on a quote by Marcello Truzzi An extraordinary claim requires extraordinary proof. Cecil Adams of The Straight Dope calls Skeptical Inquirer one of the nations leading antifruitcake journals, in addition, it publishes Skeptical Briefs, a quarterly newsletter published for associate members. CSI conducts and publishes investigations into Bigfoot and UFO sightings, psychics, astrologers, alternative medicine, religious cults, CSICOP has held dozens of conferences between 1983 and 2005, two of them in Europe, and all six World Skeptics Congresses so far were sponsored by it. Since 2011, the conference is known as CSICon, two conventions have been held in conjunction with its sister and parent organizations, CSH and CFI, in 2013 and 2015. CSI has also supported local efforts, such as SkeptiCamp community-organized conferences. Many CSI activities are oriented towards the media, the strategy was twofold, First, to strengthen the hand of skeptics in the media by providing information that debunked paranormal wonders. Second, to serve as a group which would direct public
27.
Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction
–
The Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. Finalists have been announced from 1980, ordinarily two others beside the winner, in its first 52 years to 2013, the Nonfiction Pulitzer was awarded 55 times, two prizes were given in 1969,1973, and 1986. Two people won the prize as co-authors in 1968,1990, barbara Tuchman and E. O. Wilson have won two Nonfiction prizes each. 2 and 3, by Robert Coles 1974, The Denial of Death by Ernest Becker 1975, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard 1976, harris, The Death of the Scarsdale Diet Doctor by Diana Trilling 1983, Is There No Place on Earth for Me. Barbara Tuchman,1963 for The Guns of August and 1972 for Stilwell and the American Experience in China E. O
28.
On Human Nature
–
On Human Nature is a book by Harvard biologist E. O. Wilson, in which Wilson attempts to explain human nature and society through sociobiology. He attempts to complete the Darwinian revolution by bringing biological thought into social sciences and humanities, Wilson describes On Human Nature as a sequel to his earlier books The Insect Societies and Sociobiology, The New Synthesis. On Human Nature won a 1979 Pulitzer Prize, anthropologist Sarah Blaffer Hrdy wrote that a reading of the book refutes the accusation that Wilson aims to use sociobiology to reinforce traditional sex roles. However, he granted that sociobiological explanations of the sort favored by Wilson might possibly be correct, science writers John Gribbin and Mary Gribbin described On Human Nature as an accessible account of the application of sociobiology to people. Sociologist Ullica Segerstråle considered the book essentially a development of Wilsons earlier ideas, Segerstråle commented that, unlike opponents of sociobiology, Wilson saw it as having liberal political implications, and tried to develop these suggestions in On Human Nature. Psychologist David P. Barash and author Ilona A. Barash called On Human Nature, A wide-ranging, thoughtful, in 2011, On Human Nature was named by Time magazine as one of the 100 best and most influential books written in English since 1923. Biology and sexual orientation On Aggression The Two Cultures Books Online articles Description of the book at Harvard University Press On Human Nature on Open Library at the Internet Archive
29.
The New York Times
–
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper, founded and continuously published in New York City since September 18,1851, by The New York Times Company. The New York Times has won 119 Pulitzer Prizes, more than any other newspaper, the papers print version in 2013 had the second-largest circulation, behind The Wall Street Journal, and the largest circulation among the metropolitan newspapers in the US. The New York Times is ranked 18th in the world by circulation, following industry trends, its weekday circulation had fallen in 2009 to fewer than one million. Nicknamed The Gray Lady, The New York Times has long been regarded within the industry as a newspaper of record. The New York Times international version, formerly the International Herald Tribune, is now called the New York Times International Edition, the papers motto, All the News Thats Fit to Print, appears in the upper left-hand corner of the front page. On Sunday, The New York Times is supplemented by the Sunday Review, The New York Times Book Review, The New York Times Magazine and T, some other early investors of the company were Edwin B. Morgan and Edward B. We do not believe that everything in Society is either right or exactly wrong, —what is good we desire to preserve and improve, —what is evil, to exterminate. In 1852, the started a western division, The Times of California that arrived whenever a mail boat got to California. However, when local California newspapers came into prominence, the effort failed, the newspaper shortened its name to The New-York Times in 1857. It dropped the hyphen in the city name in the 1890s, One of the earliest public controversies it was involved with was the Mortara Affair, the subject of twenty editorials it published alone. At Newspaper Row, across from City Hall, Henry Raymond, owner and editor of The New York Times, averted the rioters with Gatling guns, in 1869, Raymond died, and George Jones took over as publisher. Tweed offered The New York Times five million dollars to not publish the story, in the 1880s, The New York Times transitioned gradually from editorially supporting Republican Party candidates to becoming more politically independent and analytical. In 1884, the paper supported Democrat Grover Cleveland in his first presidential campaign, while this move cost The New York Times readership among its more progressive and Republican readers, the paper eventually regained most of its lost ground within a few years. However, the newspaper was financially crippled by the Panic of 1893, the paper slowly acquired a reputation for even-handedness and accurate modern reporting, especially by the 1890s under the guidance of Ochs. Under Ochs guidance, continuing and expanding upon the Henry Raymond tradition, The New York Times achieved international scope, circulation, in 1910, the first air delivery of The New York Times to Philadelphia began. The New York Times first trans-Atlantic delivery by air to London occurred in 1919 by dirigible, airplane Edition was sent by plane to Chicago so it could be in the hands of Republican convention delegates by evening. In the 1940s, the extended its breadth and reach. The crossword began appearing regularly in 1942, and the section in 1946
30.
Washington, D.C.
–
Washington, D. C. formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D. C. is the capital of the United States. The signing of the Residence Act on July 16,1790, Constitution provided for a federal district under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Congress and the District is therefore not a part of any state. The states of Maryland and Virginia each donated land to form the federal district, named in honor of President George Washington, the City of Washington was founded in 1791 to serve as the new national capital. In 1846, Congress returned the land ceded by Virginia, in 1871. Washington had an population of 681,170 as of July 2016. Commuters from the surrounding Maryland and Virginia suburbs raise the population to more than one million during the workweek. The Washington metropolitan area, of which the District is a part, has a population of over 6 million, the centers of all three branches of the federal government of the United States are in the District, including the Congress, President, and Supreme Court. Washington is home to national monuments and museums, which are primarily situated on or around the National Mall. The city hosts 176 foreign embassies as well as the headquarters of international organizations, trade unions, non-profit organizations, lobbying groups. A locally elected mayor and a 13‑member council have governed the District since 1973, However, the Congress maintains supreme authority over the city and may overturn local laws. D. C. residents elect a non-voting, at-large congressional delegate to the House of Representatives, the District receives three electoral votes in presidential elections as permitted by the Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified in 1961. Various tribes of the Algonquian-speaking Piscataway people inhabited the lands around the Potomac River when Europeans first visited the area in the early 17th century, One group known as the Nacotchtank maintained settlements around the Anacostia River within the present-day District of Columbia. Conflicts with European colonists and neighboring tribes forced the relocation of the Piscataway people, some of whom established a new settlement in 1699 near Point of Rocks, Maryland. 43, published January 23,1788, James Madison argued that the new government would need authority over a national capital to provide for its own maintenance. Five years earlier, a band of unpaid soldiers besieged Congress while its members were meeting in Philadelphia, known as the Pennsylvania Mutiny of 1783, the event emphasized the need for the national government not to rely on any state for its own security. However, the Constitution does not specify a location for the capital, on July 9,1790, Congress passed the Residence Act, which approved the creation of a national capital on the Potomac River. The exact location was to be selected by President George Washington, formed from land donated by the states of Maryland and Virginia, the initial shape of the federal district was a square measuring 10 miles on each side, totaling 100 square miles. Two pre-existing settlements were included in the territory, the port of Georgetown, Maryland, founded in 1751, many of the stones are still standing
31.
Mobile, Alabama
–
Mobile is the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. Alabamas only saltwater port, Mobile is located at the head of the Mobile Bay, Mobile is the principal municipality of the Mobile metropolitan area. This region of 412,992 residents is composed solely of Mobile County, Mobile is the largest city in the Mobile-Daphne−Fairhope CSA, with a total population of 604,726, the second largest in the state. As of 2011, the population within a 60-mile radius of Mobile is 1,262,907, Mobile began as the first capital of colonial French Louisiana in 1702. During its first 100 years, Mobile was a colony of France, then Britain, Mobile first became a part of the United States of America in 1813, with the annexation of West Florida under President James Madison. In 1861 Alabama joined the Confederate States of America, which surrendered in 1865, Mobile is known for having the oldest organized Carnival celebrations in the United States. The festival began to be celebrated in the first decade of the 18th century by its first French Catholic colonial settlers. Mobile was host to the first formally organized Carnival mystic society, known elsewhere as a krewe, to celebrate with a parade in the United States, in 2005 the first integrated mystic society had a parade for Mardi Gras. The city gained its name from the Mobile tribe that the French colonists encountered living in the area of Mobile Bay. The Mobile tribe, along with the Tohomé, obtained permission from the colonists, about seven years after the founding of the Mobile settlement, to settle near the fort. It was founded by French Canadian brothers Pierre Le Moyne dIberville and Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville, Bienville was appointed as royal governor of French Louisiana in 1701. Mobiles Roman Catholic parish was established on July 20,1703, by Jean-Baptiste de la Croix de Chevrières de Saint-Vallier, the parish was the first French Catholic parish established on the Gulf Coast of the United States. In 1704 the ship Pélican delivered 23 French women to the colony, though most of the Pélican girls recovered, numerous colonists and neighboring Native Americans contracted the disease in turn and died. This early period was also the occasion of the importation of the first African slaves, the population of the colony fluctuated over the next few years, growing to 279 persons by 1708, yet descending to 178 persons two years later due to disease. A new earth-and-palisade Fort Louis was constructed at the new site during this time, by 1712, when Antoine Crozat was appointed to take over administration of the colony, its population had reached 400 persons. The capital of La Louisiane was moved in 1720 to Biloxi, leaving Mobile to serve as a regional military and trading center. In 1723 the construction of a new fort with a stone foundation began and it was renamed Fort Condé in honor of Louis Henri, Duc de Bourbon. In 1763, the Treaty of Paris was signed, ending the Seven Years War, by this treaty, France ceded its territories east of the Mississippi River to Britain
