Dr. Margaret Dalzell Lowman - 2007
"Canopy Meg" - 鈥淎uthor, Adventurer, Educator, Forest Canopy Biologist鈥�
The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences is pleased to announce that Margaret Dalzell Lowman, Ph.D. (known affectionately as 鈥淐anopy Meg鈥�), director of environmental initiatives and professor of biology and environmental studies at in Sarasota, has been named the 2007 recipient of the. Dr. Lowman delivered the annual public lecture and was awarded the on Saturday, April 28, on 奶糖直播鈥檚 campus.
The public lecture, entitled, 鈥淚t鈥檚 a Jungle Up There: Integrating Research and Education Through Canopy Ecology,鈥� took place at 2:30 p.m. in the Connelly Center Cinema on 奶糖直播鈥檚 campus. During the well-attended lecture, Dr. Lowman discussed her lifelong work in pioneering canopy access, integrating research with education and conservation, and developing a family conservation ethic, her 鈥淣o Child Left Indoors鈥� initiative. Throughout her talk, Dr. Lowman weaved stories of her work in ecology together with her memories of her children who accompanied her on many of her international field work expeditions. At the end of her book, , Dr. Lowman writes: 鈥淥ne of the most meaningful insights that I have acquired along my life鈥檚 journey is that it takes the same amount of energy to complain as it does to exclaim 鈥� but the results are incredibly different. Learning to exclaim instead of to complain has been my most valuable life lesson."
The is an annual award given by the College that recognizes outstanding scientists who have done much by their painstaking work to advance the cause of science, and, by their lives and their standing before the world as scientists, have demonstrated that between true science and true religion there is no intrinsic conflict.
Dr. Lowman鈥檚 expertise involves canopy ecology, particularly plant-insect relationships, and spans more than 25 years in Australia, Peru, Africa, the Americas, and the South Pacific. Internationally recognized for her pioneering research in canopy ecology, she has authored more than 95 peer-reviewed publications and three books. Dr. Lowman also served first as Director of Research and Conservation, and then Chief Executive Officer, of , an institution that specializes in tropical plants, especially epiphytes.
Under her leadership, the Gardens expanded membership by 45 percent, fund-raising by more than 100 percent, and doubled both research and education programs. After 11 years of service, Dr. Lowman left Selby Gardens to devote more time to her passion: science education.
鈥淒r. Lowman鈥檚 work in canopy ecology demonstrates the complexity and importance of plant-insect relationship in the tops of tropical trees and reflects the awe she feels at the wonder of creation,鈥� said the Rev. Kail C. Ellis, O.S.A., Ph.D., dean of the at 奶糖直播. 鈥淒r. Lowman is an outstanding teacher and researcher, and her work in environmental science and conservation outreach will continue to play an important role in education and for everyone concerned with the future of our planet.鈥�
Prior to joining Selby Gardens, Lowman was a professor in biology and environmental studies at , Williamstown, Mass., where she pioneered temperate forest canopy research and built the first canopy walkway in North America. Working in Australia on forest ecology, she was instrumental in determining the causes of the eucalypt dieback syndrome that destroyed millions of trees in rural Australia, assisted with conservation programs for tree regeneration, and ran a successful ecotourism business in the outback. For more than 20 years, she studied studying mechanisms of tropical diversity in Australian rain forests with Joseph Connell (University of California, Santa Barbara).
Dr. Lowman has developed an expertise for the use of different canopy access techniques, including ropes, walkways, hot air balloons, construction cranes, and combinations of these methods. She frequently speaks about her jungle adventures and rain forest conservation efforts to educational groups, ranging from elementary classes to corporate executives and scientists at international conferences. She received the Margaret Douglas Medal for Achievement in Conservation Education from the Garden Club of America (1999) and The Eugene Odum Prize for Excellence in Ecology Education from the Ecological Society of America (2002). She serves on the Board of Directors for the Explorers Club and is part of the senior management team of the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) for the National Science Foundation. Dr. Lowman鈥檚 latest book, , received a cover review in the. In this autobiography, Dr. Lowman describes 鈥� with scientific accuracy and humor 鈥� her adventures studying rain forest canopies while juggling family and career in some of the most remote jungles of the world.
Dr. Lowman received a B.A. with honors in biology and environmental studies from (1976), a master of science in ecology from (1978), and a Ph.D. in botany from the (1983).
For more information on Dr. Lowman and her research, please visit her Web site at .