Elena Litchman, a professor of aquatic ecology at Michigan State University, is the recipient of the 2021 G. Evelyn Hutchinson Award from the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography. The Hutchinson award is presented each year to a limnologist or oceanographer who has made considerable contributions to knowledge, and whose future work promises a continued legacy of scientific excellence.
ASLO is an international aquatic science society that was founded in 1948. For more than 60 years, it has been the leading professional organization for researchers and educators in the field of aquatic science. It has more than 3,800 members worldwide.
Dr. Litchman is perhaps best known for her seminal work developing a trait-based approach for the study of plankton ecology. Professor Litchman’s papers, which were the first to describe the trait-based approach for phytoplankton communities, have been collectively cited more than 1,000 times.
“I am honored, humbled, and very grateful to the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography for this award,” said Dr. Litchman. “It is especially exciting to me that the award is named after G. Evelyn Hutchinson, whose work has been a huge inspiration throughout my career. I look forward to continuing my research toward a more mechanistic and predictive microbial community ecology.”
Professor Litchman has been on the faculty at Michigan State University since 2005. She is a graduate of Moscow State University in Russia and earned a Ph.D. in ecology at the University of Minnesota.