Eugene Odum: Ecosystem Ecologist & Environmentalist - Paperback

by Betty Jean Craige (Author)

Students of nature around the world revere Eugene Odum as a founder and pioneer of ecosystem ecology. In this biography of Odum, Betty Jean Craige depicts the intellectual growth, creativity, and vision of the scientist who made the ecosystem concept central to his discipline and translated the principles of ecosystem ecology into lessons in preserving the natural environment.

Placing Odum's achievements in historical context, Craige traces his life from his childhood through his education, his collaboration with his brother Howard T. Odum in developing methods to study ecosystems, his contributions to the field of radiation ecology, his emergence as an internationally distinguished educator of ecosystem ecology, and his environmental activism. Craige also describes Odum's role in the creation of the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, the Marine Institute on Sapelo Island, and the Institute of Ecology at the University of Georgia, where he became identified with the statement "The ecosystem is greater than the sum of its parts."

Odum's textbook Fundamentals of Ecology is a classic, published in numerous editions and translations worldwide. Odum achieved membership in the National Academy of Sciences, shared with his brother the prestigious Crafoord Prize for Ecology, accepted six honorary doctorates, and received numerous awards for environmental activities.

Author Biography

BETTY JEAN CRAIGE was the University Professor of Comparative Literature and director of the Center for Humanities and Arts at the University of Georgia. She is the author of several books on the subject of holism, including Reconnection: Dualism to Holism in Literary Study, Laying the Ladder Down: The Emergence of Cultural Holism, and American Patriotism in a Global Society.