Eric Pianka
| Eric Pianka | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Eric R. Pianka January 23, 1939 Siskiyou County, California, U.S. |
| Other names | "The Lizard Man" |
| Education | B. A., (Biology), Carleton College, Northfield, Minnesota, 1960 Ph. D., (Zoology), University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, 1965 D. Sc., (Ecology), University of Western Australia, Nedlands, W. A., 1990 |
| Occupation | Biologist |
| Title | Professor of Integrative Biology at University of Texas at Austin. |
| Honors | Guggenheim Fellow, 1978 Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1981 Biography in "American Men and Women of Science" Biography in "Who's Who in Frontier Science and Technology" Biography in "Who's Who in America" Biography in "Who's Who in the World" Denton A. Cooley Centennial Professorship in Zoology, 1986- Fulbright Senior Research Scholar, Australia, 1990 Big XII Faculty Fellowship, 2000–2001 Distinguished Herpetologist, Herpetologists' League, 2004 Distinguished Scientist, Texas Academy of Science, 2006 Fellow, Ecological Society of America, 2013 American Academy of Arts and Science, elected 2014 Auffenberg Medal for excellence in monitor research, 2015 Interdisciplinary World Conference on Monitor Lizards, Phranakhon Rajabhat University, Bangkok Eminent Ecologist, Ecological Society of America, 2015 |
| Website | U Texas at Austin writings |
Eric Rodger Pianka (born January 23, 1939) is an American biologist, whose work includes herpetology and evolutionary ecology. His textbook, Evolutionary Ecology (1983) is considered a classic, and his writings for the general public and television appearances have made him an influential figure.
Pianka was born in Siskiyou County along the California–Oregon border in 1939. At age 13, he was seriously injured in a bazooka blast in the front yard of his childhood home in Yreka, California. His left leg became gangrenous, and he lost 10 cm of his tibia, as well as the terminal digit of the middle finger on his right hand. Pianka's childhood injury left him with a short and partially paralyzed leg. In later life, his short leg resulted in spinal scoliosis and cervical spondylosis (an S-shaped spine and a pinched brachial nerve between neck vertebrae).
Pianka graduated from Carleton College (B.A., 1960) and earned his Ph.D. from the University of Washington in 1965. He went on to do postdoctoral work with ecologist Robert MacArthur at Princeton University. This period, during which he worked closely with the temporarily studentless MacArthur, had a major influence on Pianka's thinking. Together, the two ecologists discussed the basic theoretical aspects of community ecology. The fruits of their collaboration included the classic paper "On optimal use of a patchy environment". Pianka frequently mentions MacArthur in his lectures and keeps a webpage for his deceased mentor and colleague. In some ways, Pianka's own research program expands upon and continues the work that he and MacArthur began.
Since 1968, Pianka has been on the faculty of the University of Texas at Austin. His interests are broad and his research includes empirical and theoretical components of natural history, systematics, community and landscape ecology.
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