April 9, 2020
Athens, Ga. – Distinguished Research Professor John M. Drake has been named a 2020 Fellow of the Ecological Society of America. ESA Fellows, who are appointed for life, are chosen for outstanding contributions to advancing or applying ecological knowledge in academia, government, non-profit organizations, and broader society.

Drake, who also serves as the Odum School’s associate dean for academic affairs and director of the UGA Center for the Ecology of Infectious Diseases, was elected in recognition of his “contributions to the understanding of tipping points in ecological and epidemiological systems and the development of computational methods for modeling the spatial distribution of species,” according to a press release from the organization. Drake is the ninth current or former Odum School faculty member so honored.

In addition, alumnus Jacob Allgeier, PhD ’13, was named an Early Career Fellow. Allgeier, now an assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Michigan, was recognized for “integrating ecosystem and community ecology to help advance understanding of nutrient dynamics in marine ecosystems and the role of consumers in mediating these processes, and for efforts to apply this information towards the conservation of coastal marine ecosystems.”

Early Career Fellows, elected to a five-year term, are chosen from among members within eight years of completing their doctoral or other terminal degree. They are selected for advancing ecological knowledge or application and showing promise for continuing to make outstanding contributions to ecology.

See the complete list of 2020 ESA Fellows: Ecological Society of America announces 2020 Fellows