Norm Christensen

Author Norm Christensen is not only a world-class scientist (elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, is the founding dean of the Nicholas School of the Environment, and served as president of the Ecological Society of America) but is also a gifted and dedicated teacher who has taught the introductory environmental science course for over 15 years and won a Distinguished Teaching Award. He grew up in Fresno, California and received his AB and MS from California...See more

Author Norm Christensen is not only a world-class scientist (elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, is the founding dean of the Nicholas School of the Environment, and served as president of the Ecological Society of America) but is also a gifted and dedicated teacher who has taught the introductory environmental science course for over 15 years and won a Distinguished Teaching Award. He grew up in Fresno, California and received his AB and MS from California State University, Fresno. His PhD is from University of California, Santa Barbara and his research experience spans community ecology, disturbance and succession, ecosystem management, sustainable forest management, and forest fires. He is a professor at Duke University. AWARDS AND HONORS: 1977 Duke Endowment Award for Teaching Excellence 1989 E.V. Komarek Lecturer, Tall Timbers Fire Ecology Conference 1991 A. Starker Leopold Award, National Park Service- Yellowstone 1991 Distinguished Teaching Award, Trinity College of Arts and Sciences, Duke University 1993 Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science 1994 Distinguished Scholar Award, Natural Sciences, California State University, Fresno 1995 Distinguished Alumnus Award, California State University, Fresno 2002-2005 Vice President for Finance, The Ecological Society of America 2004 Honorary Doctor of Science, The College of Wooster, Wooster, OH 2005 Clarence Korstian Award, Duke Forest 2006 Walton Lecturer, University of Virginia 2008 President, Ecological Society of America BOARDS AND COMMITTEES 1993 National Science Foundation, Long-term Ecological Research Program, Ten-year Review Panel 1993-1999 Chair, National Academy of Sciences Committee on the Environmental Issues in Forest Management in the Pacific Northwest 1993-1995 Chair, Ecological Society of America, Committee on Ecosystem Management 1993-1995 Sierra Nevada Ecosystem Project Team 1993-present Board of Trustees, North Carolina Nature Conservancy 1993-present Board of Directors, The Conservation Fund 1994-1995 National Geographic Society Panel on Non-point-Source Pollution and Water Quality 1995 Chair, State of North Carolina Wetlands Task Force 1997 Co-chair, Federal Advisory Committee on the California Spotted Owl 1997-2004 US Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board (appointed by President Bill Clinton) 1999-present Board of Directors, Resources for the Future 1999-2004 Board of Governors, The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences 2001-2003 Board of Trustees, The Triangle Land Conservancy 2001-2003 Board of Trustees, The Forest History Society 2000-2008 National Commission on Science for Sustainable Forestry, Chair (2001-2003) 2003-2008 Advisory Panel, State of the Nation's Ecosystems Project, John Heinz Center. 2003-2009 Board of Trustees, Environmental Defense Fund 2003-2009 Sustainable Forestry Board 2007 U.S National Forest Service Fire Research Program Review Panel (Chair) SERVICE TO PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES Editorial Board, American Midland Naturalist, 1979-1986 Chairman, Vegetation Section, Ecological Society of America, 1985-87 Awards Committee, Mercer Award, Ecological Society of America, 1988-1989 Editorial Board, Journal of Vegetation Science, 1989-94 Editorial Board, Journal of Wildland Fire, 1992-1996 Editorial Board, Ecosystem Health, 2000-2002 Vice President for Finance, Ecological Society of America, 2002-2005 Governing Board, Ecological Society of America, 2002-2009 President, Ecological Society of America, 2007-8 See less