ATBC Honorary fellows 2010

Since 1963 the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation has awarded Honorary Fellowships to individuals who, through a long distinguished career, have contributed greatly to the advance of tropical biology and/or the conservation of tropical ecosystems. All Honorary Fellows are individuals who have an extraordinary long-term commitment to the cause of tropical biology and/or conservation, who have demonstrated outstanding achievements in this field, and who have played a tremendous role in the mentorship and inspiration of new generations of tropical biologists and conservationists. To this date 77 individuals from 16 different countries have been honored with this award, and every year one or two additional Honorary Fellows are appointed, during the Association’s annual meeting. During the 2010 annual meeting of the ATBC, which took place between the 20th and the 23rd of July in Bali, Indonesia, two internationally acknowledged scientists were awarded Honorary Fellowships, Dr. Kuswata Kartawinata and Dr. Madhav Gadgil.

Dr. Kuswata is a senior scientist from Indonesia. His expertise is in botany and ecology, but he understands very well the political and social contexts that affect the implementation of conservation strategies, which has made him influential in both developed and developing countries. Dr Kuswata was educated at the Academy of Biology, Bogor, Indonesia, the University of Singapore, and the University of Hawaii at Manoa. He has authorship and co-authorships on more than 136 papers and major reports. Significant leadership posts held by Dr. Kuswata include directorship of Herbarium Bogoriense of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, and various senior posts at UNESCO, the MacArthur Foundation and CIFOR. Dr. Kuswata has supervised no less than 22 undergraduate, 12 Masters, and 9 Ph.D. students from various universities. Dr. Kuswata has received several recognition and awards, such as the 1991 Distinguished Service Medal awarded by the President of the Republic of Indonesia, and the President Club, of the University of Hawaii, USA.

Dr. Gadgil has made original contributions to the fields of population biology, human ecology and conservation, and has published over 215 research papers and 6 books. Dr. Gadgil studied biology at the University of Pune and Bombay University, and continued with a Ph.D. in mathematical ecology at Harvard University. He has served as a Lecturer on Biology at Harvard University, as a Visiting Professor of Human Biology at Stanford University, and as a Distinguished Indo-American Lecturer at University of California at Berkeley. He was a Professor at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore where he founded the Centre for Ecological Sciences. Prof. Gadgil was a member of the Science Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India and chaired the Science and Technology Advisory Panel of Global Environment Facility. Dr. Gadgil is a Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences, the Indian National Science Academy, the Third World Academy of Sciences and a Foreign Associate of the U. S. National Academy of Sciences and honorary member of the British Ecological Society. Dr. Madhav Gadgil was awarded the National Environment Fellowship, and the Pew Scholars Award in Environment and Development. He is a recipient of Shantiswarup Bhatnagar and Vikram Sarabhai Awards, Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar Gold Plaque, Volvo Environment Prize and Harvard University’s GSAS Centennial Medal.