The 2018 Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement has just been awarded to Paul Falkowski and James J. McCarthy. This prize was first created by John and Alice Tyler who were very concerned for the state of the natural environment. In 1973, Ronald Reagan helped John and Alice developing this award. It has been administered by the University of Southern California since 1981.
During its 45 year history, there have been many people all across various environmental fields that have won because of their amazing research. In 2018, the prize was awarded to these dedicated scientists because of their work in understanding and communicating the impact of human activity on Earth's climate.The fact that two American scientists won this prestigious award speaks volumes.
Dr. Falkowski is currently a respected professor in the Marine and Coastal Sciences and Planetary Sciences at Rutgers University. He primarily focuses on phytoplankton, coral, and the production of aquatic organisms. Early on, he worked at the Brookhaven National Laboratory as a staff scientist. There he developed the field of environmental biophysics.
Back in the 1970s Falkowski was actually one of the first scientists to figure out how phytoplankton communities change and impact global climate. Through his forty-two year long career, he has published over three hundred papers, edited and authored six books, and advised over one hundred graduate students.
Dr. McCarthy is a dignified Alexander Agassiz Professor of Biological Oceanography at Harvard University. He mostly focuses on the nitrogen cycle and he has generated new information about the effects of climate on biological systems. In his forty-seven year career, Dr. McCarthy has been both an author and reviewer to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, co-chair at their 2001 assessment and also was a lead author of the 2004 Arctic Climate Impact Assessment. Dr. McCarthy is also the former President of the American Association For the Advancement of Science.
Both professors have taken their students on sea voyages. Dr. Falkowski has been on over forty-five cruise expeditions over the years with regions including Antarctica and the Black Sea. While Dr. McCarthy was at sea with his students they helped generate new insights on how climate affects the production of climate and the marine organisms that consume plankton.
Dr. Falkowski and Dr. McCarthy will both officially be presented their awards at a ceremony in Washington D.C. on May 3rd, 2018. Congratulations!
