Schindler joins U.S. National Academy of Sciences
May 16, 2002 - What do the Royal Society of the United Kingdom, the Royal Society of Canada, and the United States' National Academy of the Sciences have in common?
On top of the fact that they are all prestigious, national bodies of scholarship and science, they also all have world-renowned ecologist and University of Alberta Professor David Schindler as a full member.
"There's probably not a lot of people who are members of three different countries' national science academies," he laughs.
He joined the Canadian society first, the Royal Society of London next and, just last month was nominated and elected to be a member of the American National Academy of Sciences.
His dual American-Canadian citizenship allows him to be a full member of the American academy and of the Royal Society of Canada. And the fact that he is a citizen of a Commonwealth country (Canada), makes him eligible to be a member of the Royal Society of London.
"It's quite an honour to be appointed to such a body," noted Schindler. "It's quite a prestigious group to be elected to."
The U.S. National Academy of Sciences is "one of the world's most influential bodies on science policy-making in the world," said Schindler. For example, Schindler himself chaired a panel for the academy 20 years ago on acid rain. The result was $570 million allocated for research into that area.
He bemoans the fact, however, that here in Canada, the Royal Society of Canada does not play such an influential role in the shaping of science policy.
"That's a role this country should set for its Royal Society. Both the United States and the United Kingdom rely heavily on the two bodies to ensure their countries' policies are scientifically sound," said Schindler.
Schindler hopes to use his membership and involvement in the Academy to continue the ground-breaking ecological research for which he has earned his reputation as a first-class scientist.
"They have a fresh water crisis in the western United States that could be as bad as the one we're facing here. And they have an analogous problem with the loss of biodiversity and invasions of alien species," he said.
Related Stories
Schindler Slams Federal Budget
http://www.expressnews.ualberta.ca/expressnews/articles/news.cfm?p_ID=1567
Schindler wins $1 million honour (ExpressNews, November 5, 2001):
http://www.expressnews.ualberta.ca/expressnews/articles/news.cfm?p_ID=1324
Schindler up for national award (ExpressNews, October 29, 2001): http://www.expressnews.ualberta.ca/expressnews/articles/news.cfm?p_ID=1215
Schindler named royal fellow (ExpressNews, May 23, 2001): http://www.expressnews.ualberta.ca/expressnews/articles/news.cfm?p_ID=156
Agricultural growth threatens fresh water (ExpressNews, April 12, 2001): http://www.expressnews.ualberta.ca/expressnews/articles/news.cfm?p_ID=215
Related link – internal
Dr. David Schindler's U of A Web page:
http://www.biology.ualberta.ca/schindler.hp/schindle.html
Related links – external
The U.S. National Academy of Sciences Web site: http://www.nas.edu/
The Royal Society of the United Kingdom Web site: http://www.royalsoc.ac.uk/
The Royal Society of Canada Web site: http://www.rsc.ca/
Experts mentioned in this article
