THE ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES HIRES NEW VICE PRESIDENT OF BIODIVERSITY AFTER NATIONWIDE SEARCH
Philadelphia-The Academy of Natural Sciences is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Meredith Lane as the new Vice President of Biodiversity. Lane, of Ardmore, Pa., was chosen from a wide field of candidates after a nationwide search. She will coordinate and oversee the Academy's Biodiversity Group of 48 scientists and staff and more than 21 million plant, animal and mineral specimens collected from all corners of the globe.
"We look forward to Meredith's inspiring leadership to help us accomplish our mission of discovery and stewardship in the new millennium," said Dr. Paul Hanle, President of The Academy of Natural Sciences.
Before coming to the Academy, Lane was Curator-in-Charge of the Division of Botany at the University of Kansas Natural History Museum for 10 years, where she also served as Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (Plant Biology Program). From 1997 to 1998, she served as Agency Representative (for the National Science Foundation) at the Office of Science and Technology Policy in the Environment Division. There she was Study Executive Director for the Biodiversity and Ecosystems Panel of the President's Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST). PCAST, whose members are appointed by President Clinton, is the highest level private sector science and technology advisory group for the President and the National Science and Technology Council. Prior to her appointment at PCAST, Lane was a Program Director of the National Science Foundation, where she managed two programs, which were concerned with the discovery of biodiversity and stewardship of natural history collections such as those at the Academy.
As the Academy's Vice President of Biodiversity, Lane will oversee the workings of the following science departments: entomology, botany, mammology, mineralogy, herpetology, ichthyology, invertebrate paleontology, malacology, ornithology, vertebrate biology/paleontology, invertebrates, and diatoms. She sees her new position as "a move away from doing science to promoting and facilitating the world-class research currently under way at the Academy.
"The Academy can do the kind of research we need to better manage the Earth's sustainable resources," Lane said. "Right in our own specimen collections we have an important record of environmental history covering millions of years from which to draw valuable information." One of her main goals is to make this scientific expertise accessible for the benefit of society.
Lane taught for 27 years at the college level, and she has had much past experience enlightening the public about the natural world, beginning with her summers in the early 1970s as a Seasonal Interpretive Ranger at Yellowstone National Park. She graduated from Arizona State University with a degree in biology, stayed on to earn a masters degree in botany, and then a Ph.D. in botany at the University of Texas.
Lane replaces Dr. Jon Gelhaus, who was Acting Vice President for Biodiversity from 1996 through June of this year. Gelhaus, a world authority on crane flies, resumed his duties as Associate Curator of Entomology.
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The Academy of Natural Sciences, an international museum of natural history operating since 1812, undertakes research and public education that focus on the environment and its diverse species. Our mission is to expand knowledge of nature and to inspire stewardship of the environment. The Academy of Natural Sciences is located at 19th street and Benjamin Franklin Parkway on Logan Circle. For 24-hour information, call 215/299-1000.
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