Peter Morrison Vitousek (born January 24, 1949 http://www.japanprize.jp/data/press/2010/Citation_CV_ProfVitousek_E.pdf ) is an American

ecologist Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps wi ...

, particularly known for his work on the

nitrogen cycle The nitrogen cycle is the biogeochemical cycle by which nitrogen is converted into multiple chemical forms as it circulates among atmospheric, terrestrial, and marine ecosystems. The conversion of nitrogen can be carried out through both biologi ...

. Born in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

, Vitousek graduated from

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zephaniah Swift Moore, Amherst is the third oldest institution of higher educatio ...

in 1971 and received his Ph.D. in biology from

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...

in 1975. Since then, he has worked as an Assistant Professor of Zoology and Biology at

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...

(1975–79), an Associate Professor of Botany and Biology at the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

(1980–83), and a Professor in the Department of Biology at

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

since 1984. He is married to fellow Stanford professor and ecologist

Pamela Matson Pamela Anne Matson (born 1953) is an American scientist and professor. From 2002 - 2017 she was the dean of the Stanford University School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences. She also previously worked at NASA and at the University of Cal ...

. He was elected a member of the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

in 1992. In 1993, he was elected a Fellow of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...

. Vitousek was awarded the 2006

NAS Award for Scientific Reviewing The NAS Award for Scientific Reviewing is awarded by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences "to recognize authors whose reviews have synthesized extensive and difficult material, rendering a significant service to science and influencing the course ...

"for his scholarly and inspirational book and reviews on nitrogen cycling and its role in the evolving patterns of ecosystem productivity and diversity." In 2010, he was awarded the

Japan Prize is awarded to people from all parts of the world whose "original and outstanding achievements in science and technology are recognized as having advanced the frontiers of knowledge and served the cause of peace and prosperity for mankind." The P ...

. Vitousek is the son of Betty and Roy Vitousek Jr of Hawaii. He is the grandson of Roy A. Vitousek who was a three-term

Speaker of the Hawaii House of Representatives The Speaker of the Hawaii House of Representatives is the speaker (politics), speaker (speaker (politics), presiding officer) of the Hawaii House of Representatives. Territorial House of Representatives After statehood References

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Selected publications

*Peter M. Vitousek (1982) Nutrient Cycling and Nutrient Use Efficiency. Am Nat. 119, pp. 553. *Peter M. Vitousek, Paul R. Ehrlich, Anne H. Ehrlich and Pamela A. Matson (1986
Human Appropriation of the Products of Photosynthesis
BioScience 36: 368-373 *Peter M. Vitousek & L.R. Walker (1989) Biological invasion by Myrica faya in Hawai'i: plant demography, nitrogen fixation, and ecosystem effects. Ecological Monographs 59: 247–265. *Peter M. Vitousek & R W. Howarth (1991) Nitrogen limitation on land and in the sea: How can it occur? Biogeochemistry 13: 87-115 *Peter M. Vitousek, John D. Aber, Robert W. Howarth, Gene E. Likens, Pamela A. Matson, David W. Schindler, William H. Schlesinger, David G. Tilman (1997) Human alteration of the global nitrogen cycle: Sources and consequences. Ecological Applications: 7, 737-750. *Peter M. Vitousek, Harold A. Mooney, Jane Lubchenco, Jerry M. Melillo. (1997) Human Domination of Earth's Ecosystems. Science 277: 494 – 499. *Peter M. Vitousek (2004) Nutrient Cycling and Limitation: Hawai‘i as a Model System. Princeton University Press. *Peter M. Vitousek, T.L. Ladefoged, P.V. Kirch, A.S. Hartshorn, M.W. Graves, S.C. Hotchkiss, S. Tuljapurkar, and O.A. Chadwick (2004) Agriculture, soils, and society in precontact Hawai’i. Science 304: 1665–1669 *Peter M. Vitousek, R. Naylor, T. Crews, M. B. David, L.E. Drinkwater, E. Holland, P. J. Johnes, J. Katzenberger, L. A. Martinelli, P. A. Matson, G. Nziguheba, D. Ojima, C. A. Palm, G. P. Robertson, P. A. Sanchez, A. R. Townsend, F. S. Zhang (2009) Nutrient Imbalances in Agricultural Development: Science 324: 1519-1520.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vitousek, Peter M. 1949 births American ecologists Amherst College alumni Dartmouth College alumni Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Indiana University faculty Living people Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences People from Hawaii Stanford University Department of Biology faculty University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill faculty Fellows of the Ecological Society of America