John N. Thompson
Contact:
jnthomp@ucsc.edu
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
130 McAllister Way, CBB-EEB
University of California, Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz, CA 95060 USA
I am not accepting new postdoctoral associates or graduate students.
Short Biography
John N Thompson is Distinguished Research Professor of Ecology and Evolution at the University of California, Santa Cruz. His research is on how the process of coevolution shapes the earth’s biodiversity into webs of interacting species. His studies have included the mathematical theory of coevolution, interactions between plants and their enemies and mutualists, and interactions among microbes. He has used a mix of long-term studies in wilderness areas, field experiments, and laboratory experiments to probe how species coevolve over small to large geographic scales and over short to long periods of time. He is a past president of the American Society of Naturalists, a recipient of the Darwin-Wallace Medal for major advances in evolutionary biology, and a recipient of the Per Brink Oikos Award for contributions to the science of ecology. His books include Interaction and Coevolution (1982), The Coevolutionary Process (1994), The Geographic Mosaic of Coevolution (2005), and Relentless Evolution (2013).
Abbreviated CV
Education:
Washington and Jefferson College, Washington, PA, 1969-1973, B.A., Biology, Magna cum laude
University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois, School of Life Sciences Ecology Program, 1973-1977, Ph.D.
Professional Positions (reverse order):
Distinguished Research Professor, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, 2021-current
Distinguished Professor, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, 2008-2021
Jean H Langenheim Endowed Chair in Plant Ecology and Evolution, University of California, Santa Cruz, 2014-2019
Director, The STEPS Institute for Innovation in Environmental Research, University of California, Santa Cruz, 2002-2007
Professor, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, 2000-2008
Meyer Distinguished Professor of the College of Sciences, Washington State Univ., 1994-1997
Assistant Professor, Botany and Zoology, Washington State University, 1978-1982, Associate Professor 1982-1987, Professor 1987-2000
Senior Fellowships and Extended Visiting Scholar Appointments (reverse order):
Elected Visiting Fellow Commoner, Trinity College, University of Cambridge, 2014
Whiteley Center Scholar, University of Washington, summer 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016
Fellow, Centre for Advanced Study, Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, 2009-2010
Center Sabbatical Fellow, National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, Santa Barbara, 1997-1998
Invited Faculty Scholar, Centre for Population Biology, Imperial College (Silwood Park), England, 1995, 2006
Fulbright Senior Scholar, CSIRO, Plant Industry, Canberra, Australia, 1991-1992
Visiting Faculty, Imperial College (Silwood Park), England, 1985
Awards, Elected Honorary Societies, and Professional Recognition:
Elected Fellow, Royal Entomological Society of London, 1986
Elected Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1988
ISI List of the Most Cited Researchers in Ecology/Evolutionary Biology, 2002
Elected Fellow, California Academy of Sciences, 2004
Per Brinck Oikos Award for Important Contributions to Ecology, 2009
President, American Society of Naturalists, 2008; ASN Executive Council 2007-2011
Elected Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 2010
Darwin-Wallace Medal for Major Contributions to Evolutionary Biology, Linnean Society, 2017
Current and Recent Other Professional Experience (examples from recent years only):
European Research Council LS8 Panel on Evolutionary, Population, and Environmental Biology, Panel Chair 2014, 2016, 2018
European Research Council LS8 Panel on Evolutionary, Population, and Environmental Biology, Brussels, member 2012
Society for the Study of Evolution, Visioning Committee on the State an Future of SSE, 2016-2017
Japan International Prize in Biology, Selection Committee, 2013
Scientific Editor, Species Interactions book series, University of Chicago Press, 1995-2018
UC MEXUS, proposal review panel, 2016
California Academy of Sciences, Fellows' Selection Committee, 2014
American Society of Naturalists, Officer Nominating Committee, 2010-2013; chair 2013.
External Review Committee, ETH Zurich, Switzerland, Environmental Sciences, 2010
U.S. National Science Foundation, Science and Technology Center Site Review Panel, Chair, Evolution team, 2012
California Academy of Sciences, Fellows’ Steering Committee, 2008-2009
U.S. National Science Foundation review panels for special competitions, 2006, 2007, 2009; other panels, 2012;
Special Editor for the journal Evolution, 2007-2011
External Review Committee, Dept. of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, UCLA, 2007
International External Review Committee, Division of Plant Industry, CSIRO, Australia, 2006
Invited Talks (recent years only):
Per Brinck Lecture as part of acceptance of Per Brinck Award for Contributions to Ecology, Swedish Oikos Society, Uppsala, Sweden, February 2009
University of Sevilla, Opening talk, Symposium in honor of the 150th anniversary of the publication of the Origin of Species, February 2009
University of Nevada, Reno, Department of Biology, April 2009
Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park, April 2009, April 2017
Harvard University, Opening talk, Symposium on the ecology and evolution of mutualism, May 2009
Centre for Advanced Studies, Norway Academy of Science and Letters, Oslo, Norway, August 2009
European Society for Evolutionary Biology, Plenary speaker at biennial meeting, Turin, Italy, August 2009
Gulbenkian Institute, Lisbon, Portugal, November 2009
Stockholm University, Department of Zoology, November 2009
Gordon Conference on Plant-Herbivore Interactions, Invited speaker, Galveston, Texas, February 2010
Symposium on Ecological Integration, Texas A&M, Invited speaker, March 2010
Sixth International Wolbachia Conference, Asilomar Conference Center, California, Evening plenary speaker, June 2010
Genetics Society of Australia, Keynote speaker, Canberra, July 2010
American Association for the Advancement of Science, Symposium on Rethinking Adaptation to a Changing Global Environment, Washington, DC, February 2011
Washington University, Department of Biology, March 2011
American Society of Microbiology Plenary Session on Coevolution, New Orleans, Opening speaker, May 2011
Ecological Society of Germany, Switzerland, and Austria, Symposium on Plant Population Biology, Oxford, England, June 2011
Fifth International Symposium of the Biodiversity and Evolution Global COE project, Kyoto, Japan, Keynote speaker, July 2011
University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, Workshop on the ecology and evolution of mutualistic networks, August 2011
University of Washington Friday Harbor Laboratories, October 2011
Yale University, G Evelyn Hutchinson Distinguished Speaker, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, February 2012
National Science Foundation, Arlington, VA, OPUS meeting, September 2012
CSIRO, Plant Industry, Canberra, Australia, Invited opening speaker, Symposium on biological arms races, November 2012
Mexican Ecological Society annual meeting, Plenary Lecture, Villahermosa, Mexico, March 2013
Rutgers University, Annual Eminent Ecologist Lecture, Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources, April 2013
Stanford University, Department of Biology, April 2013
31st New Phytologist Symposium, Keynote speaker, Cosenza, Italy, May 2013
Symbiosis Workshop 2013, Keynote speaker, Yosemite National Park, May 2013
University of Sao Paulo, First annual Fritz Müller Lectures in Ecology and Evolution, August 2013
University of Florida, Department of Biology & Florida Museum of Natural History, Sept. 2013
University of Rochester, Department of Biology, November 2013
Stanford University, Department of Biology, April 2014
University of Cambridge, Department of Zoology, October 2014
University of Uppsala, November 2014
University of Helsinki, November 2014
CSIC, Seville, Spain, November 2014
University of Sao Paulo, Third annual Fritz Müller Lectures in Ecology and Evolution, July 2015
University of Utah, Department of Biology, October 2015
University of California, Santa Barbara, Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, October 2016
University of Campinas, Brazil, Institute of Biology, July 2017
University of Lund, Department of Biology, November 2017
University of Mississippi, Department of Biology, November 2017
University of Zurich, Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, March 2018
KU Leuven, Ecology, Evolution, and Biodiversity Conservation Section, June 2018
University of Tennessee, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, August 2018
University of California, Berkeley, Department of Integrative Biology, September 2018
University of Sevilla, Department of Biology, November 2018
University of Michigan, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, March 2019
Gordon Research Conference on Animal Symbioses, Invited first-evening talk, June 2019
New Phytologist Symposium on Interaction Networks and Trait Evolution, University of Zurich, July 2019
University of Sao Paulo, Department of Ecology, December 2020
University of Munich, Department of Systematic Botany and Mycology, January 2021
Publications:
Please see Publications page.