2020 Distinguished Landscape Ecologist Award
Tom Spies
The Distinguished Landscape Ecologist Award recognizes individuals whose long-term scientific contribution has helped to define the field of landscape ecology. The recipient of this year’s award was Dr. Thomas Spies. Dr. Spies received his BS, MS, and PhD from the University of Michigan, where he served as teaching assistant and lecturer for courses focused on soils, plans, and forests. Since then, he served as a Research Associate at Oregon State University, and as a Research Forester for the USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station while also maintaining a Courtesy Faculty appointment with Oregon State University. He has authored or co-authored more than 200 publications focused on diverse aspects of landscape-level forest ecology and management, several of which have been cited hundreds (250 to 450+) of times. He has both advised and mentored numerous graduate students, many of which went on to have distinguished careers in landscape ecology and related fields. He has completed an exhaustive number of scientific presentations for many audiences, including 10 keynote presentations at national and international meetings. The competitive grants he has received easily surpass $8 million, from a variety of sources including the National Science Foundation, NASA, and BLM Joint Fire Science Program, among others. Editorial accomplishments have included Board of Directors for the Journal of Sustainable Forestry (1995-2002) and Coordinating Editor for Landscape Ecology (2005 to 2012). Among his numerous honors and awards are an IUFRO (International Union of Forestry Research Organizations) Scientific Achievement Award (1995) for distinguished individual achievement in forestry research, and the Forest Service Chief’s Superior Scientist award (2002) for contributions to the ecology and management of old-growth forests.
The Distinguished Landscape Ecologist Award recognizes individuals whose long-term scientific contribution has helped to define the field of landscape ecology. The recipient of this year’s award was Dr. Thomas Spies. Dr. Spies received his BS, MS, and PhD from the University of Michigan, where he served as teaching assistant and lecturer for courses focused on soils, plans, and forests. Since then, he served as a Research Associate at Oregon State University, and as a Research Forester for the USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station while also maintaining a Courtesy Faculty appointment with Oregon State University. He has authored or co-authored more than 200 publications focused on diverse aspects of landscape-level forest ecology and management, several of which have been cited hundreds (250 to 450+) of times. He has both advised and mentored numerous graduate students, many of which went on to have distinguished careers in landscape ecology and related fields. He has completed an exhaustive number of scientific presentations for many audiences, including 10 keynote presentations at national and international meetings. The competitive grants he has received easily surpass $8 million, from a variety of sources including the National Science Foundation, NASA, and BLM Joint Fire Science Program, among others. Editorial accomplishments have included Board of Directors for the Journal of Sustainable Forestry (1995-2002) and Coordinating Editor for Landscape Ecology (2005 to 2012). Among his numerous honors and awards are an IUFRO (International Union of Forestry Research Organizations) Scientific Achievement Award (1995) for distinguished individual achievement in forestry research, and the Forest Service Chief’s Superior Scientist award (2002) for contributions to the ecology and management of old-growth forests.
