Katharine Suding, distinguished professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Colorado Boulder, has been selected to receive the Bower Award and Prize for Achievement in Science from the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. The $250,000 prize is presented annually to outstanding scientists and innovators who have led paradigm shifts in their respective fields.
Dr. Suding was recognized for her transformative contributions to restoration ecology. She is a plant community ecologist who works at the interface of ecosystem landscape and population biology. Her lab at the University of Colorado Boulder’s Institute for Arctic and Alpine Research collaborates with a range of conservation groups, government agencies, and land managers to provide evidence-based solutions that take into account biodiversity, human well-being, and management opportunities. Dr. Suding previously spent a decade leading the National Science Foundation’s Niwot Ridge Long-term Ecological Research Program, an initiative that has led to groundbreaking discoveries in alpine ecology for more than 40 years.
Dr. Suding received her bachelor’s degree from Williams College in Massachusetts and her Ph.D. from the University of Michigan.