The Department of Integrative Biology is presenting the second annual Robert M. Storm Distinguished Lecture featuring Dr. Harry W. Greene, Professor Emeritus of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Cornell University. In his talk, “Natural History and Values: Why Should We Care About Nature?” Greene will explore the threats to the diversity of life on earth and the significant role of natural history and science in encouraging values aligned with conservation.
The lecture will take place on Wednesday, May 31, 2017, at 7 p.m. in LaSells Stewart Center, Austin Auditorium. The lecture will be preceded by a reception at 6 p.m.
Grass Roots Bookstore will be on hand selling copies of Greene’s books for signing after the lecture.
Greene is a renowned herpetologist, award-winning author and a Stephen Weiss Presidential Fellow at Cornell. A recipient of the E.O. Wilson Award from the American Society of Naturalists, his book Snakes: The Evolution of Mystery in Nature (UC Press), won a PEN Literary Award and was a New York Times Notable Book.
His recent book Tracks and Shadows: Field Biology as Art is both an absorbing autobiography of Greene’s life as a field biologist and a celebration of beauty in nature. “More than a memoir, the book is about the wonder of snakes, the beauty of studying and understanding natural history, and the importance of sharing the love of nature with humanity” (UC Press).
Greene’s primary research interests are behavioral evolution, community ecology and conservation biology of vertebrates. He is perhaps best known for his scientific studies of lizards and snakes, particularly vipers, and his use of radio telemetry to track the social behavior of rattlesnakes for years at a time. Greene has studied snakes in 18 countries on six continents, including Costa Rica, northern Vietnam, and the southwestern United States.
He has served as president of the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists and is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2013, Business Insider named Greene one of Cornell’s “Top 10 Professors.”
The annual Robert M. Storm Distinguished Lecture series honors the legacy of “Doc” Storm, a pioneering herpetologist and a beloved professor of zoology at OSU for 36 years. During this time he advised and mentored 71 graduate students. The lecture was established by Storm’s former student Bill Lovejoy (Ph.D., ’72) to promote excellence, advancement, and inspiration in biology, particularly vertebrate biology, to the OSU and Corvallis communities.
We were saddened by the news of “Doc” Storm’s passing away in January this year at the age of 98. He will be greatly missed by all of us in the College and in the OSU science community.
