Professor's essay is 1 of 10 in special issue of Daedalus

Bren professor David Tilman's essay on the role of biodiversity in environmental sustainability is one of only ten essays in a new volume of the journal Daedalus, titled "Science in the 21st Century. Released on July 19 by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the issue included the thoughts of ten prominent scientists, each exploring emerging advances in their fields and respond to the question, "What secrets will science unlock in the coming decades?"

Acknowledging that predicting the future is an inherently unscientific enterprise, guest editors Jerrold Meinwald, the Goldwin Smith Professor of Chemistry Emeritus at Cornell University, and May R. Berenbaum, Professor of Entomology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, asked ten physical and biological scientists to answer the question that guided the writer's responses.

"I am deeply honored to be chosen to contribute to this special issue," Professor Tilman said. "Although none of us can predict the future, it is critically important that all of us consider how our ways of life may impact the sustainability of earth's ecosystems."

Professor Tilman's essay, "Biodiversity & Environmental Sustainability amid Human Domination of Global Ecosystems," echoes many of the themes presented by during a colloquium he delivered at the Bren School on February 6 and emphasizes the challenges to Earth's biodiversity in the face of demands of a rapidly growing world population.