If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough. — Albert Einstein Did you know that a hundred trillion microbes live in your digestive system, and yet almost nothing is known about them? Our own bodies house one of the highest-biodiversity ecosystems on the planet, and only in the past year or […]
Imagination is more important than knowledge. — Albert Einstein The era of “citizen spies” is upon us! “CSI: Miami,” take note. Many conservation biologists, geologists, public health specialists and nonprofits are building up a new army, called UAVs (Unmanned aerial vehicles) or “drones,” which are low-cost surveillance technologies that can fly over sites and capture […]
A new comment in the journal Nature argues that conservation’s impact on the world is being hindered by the field’s lack of inclusiveness — particularly its failure to consistently include both the many different values people hold for nature, and the viewpoints of women and diverse ethnicities and cultures. The comment is coauthored by Heather Tallis, lead scientist for The […]
Congratulations to my undergraduates from our NSF Research Experience for Undergraduates grant “Wheelchairs and Water Bears in Temperate Forest Canopies” for their first publication! This article describes a new species of tardigrade from the trees of Kansas, illustrating that discoveries are everywhere, even in our own backyards. Even more exciting is that these students auctioned […]
The California Academy of Sciences’ naturalist social network gets major revamp SAN FRANCISCO (November 10, 2014) — This week, iNaturalist.org—the California Academy of Sciences’ online social network for naturalists—launched a new series of easy-to-navigate maps that connect people with the natural world like never before. This living record of Earth’s biodiversity places contributed nature observations […]
From the University of Sydney’s Biology Newsetter Issue 27: Dr Margaret (Meg) Lowman’s (PhD 1983) email signature encourages you to ‘Enjoy nature!!’ – An attitude she has adopted throughout her career in canopy research and conservation advocacy. Dr Lowman earned the nickname ‘Canopy Meg’ by sharing her research into the world’s rainforests with children via […]
A vision without a task is but a dream, a task without a vision is drudgery, a vision and a task is the hope of the world. — From a church in Sussex, England c. 1730 When I was in graduate school studying ecology during the 1980s, we all shared a conviction to make the […]
Article from California Academy of Sciences: Science Today which mentions Dr. Meg Lowman’s work with eucalyptus trees. Over one hundred years ago, Eucalyptus trees were planted around the world. Native to Australia, these trees are hardy, and able to take root almost everywhere. Planted for fuel and timber, they have today become one of the […]
When I took office, only high energy physicists had ever heard of what is called the Worldwide Web … Now even my cat has its own page. — Former President Bill Clinton Much of my global forest conservation work takes me to remote parts of the planet, including India. The culture of India is vibrant, […]
In the San Francisco Business Times‘ May 2, 2014 issue, Dr. Meg Lowman made the list of the most Influential Women in Bay Area Business. Dr. Meg Lowman Chief of science and sustainability, California Academy of Sciences Education: B.A., biology cum laude, M.A., Williams College; M.Sc., ecology, University of Aberdeen, Scotland; Ph.D., botany, University of […]
