Last week, Stanford biological sciences Prof. Peter Vitousek was awarded the Japan Prize for his environmental research.<\/p>\n
One of the most prestigious awards in science, it is bestowed annually by the Science and Technology Foundation of Japan to researchers in two annually chosen areas. Vitousek, who won for contributions to \u201cbiological production and the environment,\u201d will travel to Japan in April to receive his award, a cash prize of 50 million yen, which equates to roughly $550,000.<\/p>\n
Vitousek, shocked by the honor, appreciated the prize and viewed it as an opportunity to promote his field of research. \u201cI think this award recognizes that a lot of us in the scientific community are turning toward thinking about science versus sustainability,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do we need to know to better manage human impacts on the world and to maintain a better human society?\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n
Vitousek\u2019s scientific trajectory began nearly four decades ago with a single book\u2014C.S. Elton\u2019s \u201cEcology of Invasions by Animals and Plants\u201d\u2014transforming a political science major at Amherst into an environmental scientist. Since that watershed moment, Vitousek has been studying human impacts on the environment mainly through the prism of biogeochemical cycles.<\/p>\n
Initially focused on his home state of Hawaii as a model system, he has since expanded his studies to examine nutrient imbalances around the world. Last summer, he co-authored a widely publicized article in Science magazine illustrating the detrimental effects of agricultural practices in the developing world.<\/p>\n
His recent research interests have converged on the cultural aspects of sustainability.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy sense is the native Hawaiian cultures and other indigenous cultures have a lot of understanding and worldviews that will help in the process [of sustainability],\u201d Vitousek explained.<\/p>\n
Vitousek is actively involved with Stanford\u2019s First Nations\u2019 Futures Program for native Hawaiians and New Zealand M\u0101ori. He cites the ability of traditional Hawaiian agricultural practices to sustain a large population without any external input as a lesson that can be applied to areas of the world lacking the capital to sustain inputs.<\/p>\n
Vitousek also wants to understand the undercurrents that drive some cultures toward sustainability and others away.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs I get older, I get more impressed with the importance of culture and worldview as opposed to knowledge in determining what people do,\u201d he said. \u201cWe take science or economic techniques and tools to show us the path in detail, but we\u2019ve chosen the path because of culture and belief systems.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, Vitousek\u2019s love for the raw sciences remains undiminished.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re out in the field with him, and he\u2019s like a kid,\u201d said Naupaka Zimmerman, a Ph.D. candidate in Vitousek\u2019s research group. \u201cHe loves being out there. You\u2019re tromping through tangled ferns and he\u2019s out there faster than anybody.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vitousek\u2019s passion for environmental research is colored by a genuine sense of optimism. With population growth no longer accelerating as dramatically, he believes that minimizing human impact will amount to more than \u201cshuffling deckchairs on the Titanic.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also points to changes he\u2019s seen in his 25 years of teaching at Stanford. \u201cI see many more students who possess both a passionate commitment and an interest in solutions,\u201d Vitousek said.<\/p>\n
And if you have that passionate commitment?<\/p>\n
\u201cGreat things can happen.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Last week, Stanford biological sciences Prof. Peter Vitousek was awarded the Japan Prize for his environmental research. One of the most prestigious awards in science, it is bestowed annually by the Science and Technology Foundation of Japan to researchers in two annually chosen areas. Vitousek, who won for contributions to \u201cbiological production and the environment,\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3808,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-211445","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211445","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3808"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=211445"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211445\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=211445"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=211445"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=211445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}