University of Oregon microbiologist Brendan Bohannan is among 19 North American scientists to receive Leopold Leadership Fellowships for 2009.
Based at Stanford University’s Woods Institute for the Environment, the Leopold Leadership Program was founded in 1998 to help academic scientists make their scientific knowledge accessible to decision makers. Each year the program selects up to 20 mid-career academic environmental scientists as fellows. They receive intensive communication and leadership training to help them deliver scientific information more effectively to journalists, policymakers, business leaders and the public.
“These 19 outstanding researchers are engaged in cutting edge research about Earth’s environmental systems,” said Pam Sturner, the managing director of the Leopold Leadership Program, in a news release. “Through our program, they will gain new skills and connections to make sure their research is heard and is useful to decision-making.”
Bohannan, who is a member of the UO’s Center for Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, was selected for his research on microbial biodiversity, in which he pursues the response of microbes to environmental changes. He earned a bachelor’s degree in biology in 1991 from Humboldt State University and a doctorate in microbiology in 1997 from Michigan State University.
The Leopold Leadership Program is funded by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.
