William H. Schlesinger, dean of the Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences at Duke University, has been elected a fellow of the American Geophysical Union (AGU).
The AGU confers fellowship to scientists who have attained acknowledged eminence in one or more branches of geophysics. The number of fellows elected each year is limited to no more than 0.1 percent of the union's membership.
Schlesinger, who holds the James B. Duke Chair in Biogeochemistry at Duke, was cited for his seminal work on the biogeochemistry of global climate change, particularly the role of soils in the global carbon cycle and on desert ecosystems.
He will receive his award during the AGU's annual meeting May 23-26 in Baltimore.
The AGU <http://www.agu.org/> is a nonprofit scientific organization established in 1919 by the National Research Council to promote interdisciplinary global research in four fundamental areas: atmospheric and ocean sciences; solid-Earth sciences; hydrologic sciences; and space sciences. It has more than 41,000 members in 130 countries.
Schlesinger, who was re-appointed last year to a second five-year term as dean of the NicholasSchool, is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the AmericanAcademy of Arts and Sciences and the Aldo Leopold Leadership Fellowship program. He was president of the Ecological Society of America in 2003-04; served on a White House "blue ribbon" panel for the National Climate Assessment in 1999-2000; and has testified five times before U.S. Congress on environmental issues.