Ecologist Brian McGill receives Humboldt Research Award
Brian McGill (Picture: University of Maine)
The US researcher will use the prize money for several stays at iDiv
Based on a media release of Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg
The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation has honoured US scientist Professor Dr Brian McGill from the University of Maine with the prestigious Humboldt Research Award. The biodiversity researcher was nominated by Professor Dr Jonathan Chase, head of Biodiversity Synthesis at the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) and Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU). The award is endowed with 60,000 euros. McGill will use the money for several research stays at iDiv.
Brian McGill is an internationally renowned macroecologist. His research focuses on the consequences of anthropogenic changes on species communities and biological diversity. In particular, he is investigating the impacts of global warming or land-use change, for example through urbanization. McGill studied at Harvard University and received this doctorate from the University of Arizona. He has been a professor at the University of Maine since 2015. He has authored and co-authored more than 200 publications, including high-impact studies in Nature, Science and Trends in Ecology & Evolution.
In 2017, McGill had visited iDiv for several weeks. Together with Jon Chase, he developed a critical set of methodologies that helps dissect the influence of different factors (abundances, spatial distributions) on biodiversity change. McGill plans to contribute to further developing this approach during his stays in Germany. “I am looking forward to continuing this project and using the extended stay to brainstorm some fundamental new directions to explore. iDiv is a wonderfully intellectually stimulating environment for an ecologist,” McGill says. He also plans to use his time in Germany to finalise a book on ecology and global change.
The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation awards the Humboldt Research Award to scientists who have had a fundamental impact on their field of expertise, and from whom further outstanding achievements are expected. The awardees may conduct research projects of their own choice in Germany in collaboration with colleagues from the field.
Contact:
Prof Dr Jonathan Chase
Head of the Biodiversity Synthesis research group
German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig
Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg
Phone: +49 341 9733120
Email: jonathan.chase@idiv.de
Web: www.idiv.de/en/groups-and-people/core-groups/synthesis.html
Kati Kietzmann
Media and Communications
German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig
Phone: +49 341 9739222
Email: kati.kietzmann@idiv.de
