The flagship organization for American ecologist is the Ecological Society of America (ESA).
1. Visit the ESA website (http://www.esa.org/) and browse the following areas: About ESA, Publications, Career and Funding Opportunities, Public Affairs, SBI/Science Programs.
2. Every other year the ESA recognizes an outstanding ecologist through the Robert H. MacArthur Award. The award winner delivers an address at the ESA annual meeting and publishes an essay in Ecology, the main journal of the society. Past winners are listed with links to their essays at http://www.esa.org/history/Awards/A_macarthur.php .
Pick one of the R.H. MacArthur winners from the past 14 years. First, go to that individual's homepage and review his career path. What is his educational background? Employment history? What are the major questions that s/he addresses in his or her research? How has s/he pursued those questions (e.g., observational research, lab experiments, field experiments, theoretical models, etc.)? Does the work tend to be collaborative or individual? Where has s/he published her findings? How are these findings used to address issues of environmental management? More broadly, how has this individual been involved in environmental problem solving?
Summarize (in your own words) your findings by producing a 1-page sketch of this ecologist.
3. Write a half-page summary of the key ideas presented in this individual's MacArthur award paper.
4. Come to your Week 2 discussion section prepared to discuss your findings.