Congrats Jim Ehleringer!

Source: SustainableUtah

This morning I learned that Jim Ehleringer, Distinguished Professor of Biology at the University of Utah and, more importantly, regular reader of this blog, has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences.

There are only 2,291 active members in the academy, making election truly significant.  Jim received his Ph.D. from Stanford and has been at the University of Utah since 1977.  HIs full bio is available here, but I'll give a brief summary.  Nearly 500 articles.  Former chair of the biology department.  Director of the SIRFER stable isotope ratio facility.  Lead honcho for IsoCamp, a summer course in stable isotope biogeochemistry and ecology with hundreds of alumni from around the world.  Former director and visionary leader of the Global Change and Sustainability Center, which has become a catalyst for environmental research on campus.  Fellow of the American Geophysical Union.  Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.  Etc. Etc.

I'm not sure when I first met Jim, but at some point several years ago I found myself going to one of his graduate courses on stable isotope ecology.  At the time, I knew nothing about isotopes.  Today, I still know practically nothing, but I'm conversant just enough to appreciate the remarkable work that Jim and others do on campus using isotopes to understand everything from paleoclimate to transpiration, and for that I thank him.

Congratulations to Jim on this well deserved election and recognition.