Timothy F. H. Allen (born July 6, 1942) is a British

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

and former professor of Botany and

Environmental Studies Environmental studies is a multidisciplinary academic field which systematically studies human interaction with the environment. Environmental studies connects principles from the physical sciences, commerce/economics, the humanities, and social ...

at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.Makers of American Botany, Harry Baker Humphrey, Ronald Press Company, Library of Congress Card Number 61-18435 Allen is a leader in the fields of hierarchy theory, systems theory, and

complexity Complexity characterises the behaviour of a system or model whose components interaction, interact in multiple ways and follow local rules, leading to nonlinearity, randomness, collective dynamics, hierarchy, and emergence. The term is generall ...

Biography

Timothy Allen was born in 1942 in South Croydon,

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, U.K, and since the 1970s has been a permanent U.S. resident. He received his B.Sc. in 1964 and his Ph.D. in 1968, both at the University College North Wales of the

University of Wales, Bangor Bangor University ( cy, Prifysgol Bangor) is a Public university, public university in Bangor, Gwynedd, Bangor, Wales. It received its Royal charter, Royal Charter in 1885 and was one of the founding institutions of the federal University of Wales ...

, in North Wales."Biographical Sketch Timothy F. Allen". in
Research proposal Biocomplexity
at limnology.wisc.edu. Retrieved 8 June 2008. Starting in 1964, Allen worked for four years as a demonstrator at the School of Plant Biology of the University College North Wales. This was followed by two years as a lecturer in the Department of Biological Science at the

University of Ife Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) is a federal government-owned university that is located in the ancient city of Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria. The university was founded in 1961 and classes commenced in October 1962 as the University of Ife ...

in Nigeria. In 1970 he went to the United States and became an assistant professor at the Department of Botany of University of Wisconsin–Madison, being named professor in 1981. In 1980 he joined the faculty of the Department of Integrated Liberal Studies, and as member of the faculty of the Institute for Environmental Studies, Conservation and Land Management Programs. In 1988–89 he was a visiting professor at the Department of Anthropology and Cybernetic Systems at the San Jose State University. In 2008–2009, Allen was president of the International Society for the Systems Sciences. He is also a member of the scientific advisory board of the Integral Science Institute.

Work

Timothy Allen's research interests are in the fields: theory of

complex systems A complex system is a system composed of many components which may interact with each other. Examples of complex systems are Earth's global climate, organisms, the human brain, infrastructure such as power grid, transportation or communication s ...

and ecology, in particular hierarchy theory and problems of scale; epistemology for biological systems; resource use and

biosocial dynamics Biosocial can refer to: * Biosocial behavior * Biosocial criminology Biosocial criminology is an interdisciplinary field that aims to explain crime and antisocial behavior by exploring biocultural factors. While contemporary criminology has ...

; narrative in science.Timothy F. H. Allen
The Allen Lab Department of Botany, University of Wisconsin–Madison. Retrieved 8 June 2008.

Works

Books

* 1982. ''Hierarchy : perspectives for ecological complexity''. With Thomas B. Starr. Chicago : University of Chicago Press. * 1986. ''A Hierarchical Concept of Ecosystems''. With R.V. O'Neill, D. DeAngelis and J. B. Waide. Princeton : Princeton University Press. * 1992. ''Toward a unified ecology''. With Thomas W. Hoekstra. New York : Columbia University Press. * 1996. ''Hierarchy theory : a vision, vocabulary, and epistemology''. With Valerie Ahl, illustrated by Paula Lerner. New York : Columbia University Press. * 2003. ''Supply-side sustainability''. With Joseph A. Tainter and Thomas W. Hoekstra. New York : Columbia University Press.

Selected articles

* 1991. "The role of heterogeneity in scaling of ecological systems under analysis". With T.W. Hoekstra. In: J. Kolasa, and S.T.A. Pickett (Eds.). ''Ecological heterogeneity''. Springer-Verlag. pp. 47–68. * 1993. "The problem of scaling in ecology". With A. King et al. In: ''Evolutionary Trends in Plants'' 7:3-8. * 1991. "Improving predictability in networks: system specification through networks." With R.V. O'Neill. In: M. Higashi and T.P. Burns (eds). ''Theoretical studies of ecosystems: the network perspective.''Cambridge. pp. 101–114.

References

External links

The Allen Lab Department of Botany, University of Wisconsin–Madison. {{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Timothy F. H. 1942 births Living people 20th-century British biologists 21st-century British biologists University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty British systems scientists People from Surrey Alumni of the University of Wales Academic staff of Obafemi Awolowo University British expatriates in Nigeria Presidents of the International Society for the Systems Sciences