STRI’s Joseph Wright selected as 2022 Smithsonian Distinguished Scholar in the Sciences
UPDATE: Watch the video of the June 6 ceremony, including Dr. Wright’s talk, “The Global Importance of Tropical Forests,”
As we work to clear the pandemic-driven backlog regarding the Smithsonian Distinguished Scholar in the Sciences, Secretary Bunch invites you to join him on Tuesday, June 6 at 10:00 a.m. in the Meyer Auditorium of the National Museum of Asian Art for the presentation of the 2022 award to Dr. S. Joseph Wright, Senior Scientist at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama.
Among other accolades, Dr. Wright has been called by his peers “the world’s best tropical forest plant ecologist” and one who “would qualify for an endowed chair at any university in the world—if he did not hate the cold so much and was not so attached to working at STRI!” Akin to First Secretary Joseph Henry’s establishment of programs for the large-scale collection of meteorological data, Wright’s foundation of research programs for the large-scale collection of data related to critical elements of forest ecology has been paradigm-shifting, changing the way we view forests in fundamental ways.
Dr. Wright’s research focus is plant biology in tropical forests. “My interests include plant demography, interactions among plants and animals, and relationships between plants, climate and other physical environmental factors,” he says. “My approaches include forest experiments, comparative studies over natural and artificial gradients, and long-term observational studies coupled with meteorological monitoring. Key questions include how tropical plants time important events such as flowering, leaf development and leaf fall in response to environmental cues and how hundreds of species coexist in small areas of humid tropical forest.”
Dr. Wright will present his lecture, “The Global Importance of Tropical Forests,” in person. For those who attend, there will be a reception in his honor immediately following the lecture and award presentation. The lecture will also be webcast for those not able to be present at NMAA.
A thousand tree species, a thousand vertebrate species, and an uncounted variety of smaller organisms live together in many tropical forests. The challenge posed for ecological theory is irresistible.
Dr. S. Joseph Wright
Great thanks to the committee who assisted with the selection of this year’s recipient:
- Kenneth Slowik, Chair, National Museum of American History
- Louise Cort, National Museum of Asian Art
- David DeVorkin, National Air and Space Museum
- Giovanni Fazio, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory
- William Forman, SAO
- Paula Johnson, NMAH
- Christine Jones, SAO
- Nancy Knowlton, National Museum of Natural History
- Christine Mullen Kreamer, National Museum of African Art
- Igor Krupnik, NMNH
- Michael Neufeld, NASM
- Fernando Santos-Granero, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
- Tom Watters, NASM Center for Earth and Planetary Studies
Congratulations to Dr. Wright for receiving this well-deserved Smithsonian honor. Mark your calendar now for the Jun 6 event. More information about where you can watch the livestream will be forthcoming and a recording of the event will be archived and published here and on Prism.
Related posts:
Posted: 22 May 2023
-
Categories:
Kudos , News & Announcements , Science and Nature , Tropical Research Institute
