Walter John Emil Kress (born
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
, 4 March 1951) is an American
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 the vice-president for science at the
National Museum of Natural History
The National Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. It has free admission and is open 364 days a year. In 2021, with 7 ...
.
He currently holds the appointment (2010) as the Director of the Consortium for Understanding and Sustaining a Biodiverse Planet at the Smithsonian
and is the former Executive Director of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation.
Early life and education
Kress received his education at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
(B.A.,1975) and
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...
(Ph.D., 1981), studying tropical biology, plant
systematics
Biological systematics is the study of the diversification of living forms, both past and present, and the relationships among living things through time. Relationships are visualized as evolutionary trees (synonyms: cladograms, phylogenetic tre ...
, pollination ecology, and
ethnobotany
Ethnobotany is the study of a region's plants and their practical uses through the traditional knowledge of a local culture and people. An ethnobotanist thus strives to document the local customs involving the practical uses of local flora for m ...
.
Kress' travels to tropical regions began as a graduate student where he conducted post-doctorate research in Columbia. His dissertation was mainly focused on the plants in genus ''
Heliconia
''Heliconia'', derived from the Greek word (), is a genus of flowering plants in the monotypic family Heliconiaceae. Most of the ca 194 known species are native to the tropical Americas, but a few are indigenous to certain islands of the we ...
''. Kress focused on both the systematics and the plant-animal interactions of this group. His research later took him to Las Cruces Botanic Garden in
San Vito where he studied what factors may prevent species
hybridization
Hybridization (or hybridisation) may refer to:
*Hybridization (biology), the process of combining different varieties of organisms to create a hybrid
*Orbital hybridization, in chemistry, the mixing of atomic orbitals into new hybrid orbitals
*Nu ...
.
He is responsible for the collection of many of the
Zingiberales
The Zingiberales are flowering plants forming one of four orders in the commelinids clade of monocots, together with its sister order, Commelinales. The order includes 68 genera and 2,600 species. Zingiberales are a unique though morphological ...
from around the country that exist in the botanic garden today.
Research
Kress is now the vice-president of science at the
National Museum of Natural History
The National Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. It has free admission and is open 364 days a year. In 2021, with 7 ...
, where he formerly held positions of Curator and Chairman of the Department of Botany.
Kress worked formerly as the director of research at the
Marie Selby Botanical Gardens
The Marie Selby Botanical Gardens is a botanical garden located at 900 South Palm Avenue in Sarasota, Florida. The Gardens are located on the grounds of the former home of Marie and William Selby.
Flora
The Gardens feature preserved collections ...
in Florida from 1984 to 1988.
Focusing mostly on the
Zingiberales
The Zingiberales are flowering plants forming one of four orders in the commelinids clade of monocots, together with its sister order, Commelinales. The order includes 68 genera and 2,600 species. Zingiberales are a unique though morphological ...
, including ''Heliconia,
Musa
Musa may refer to:
Places
*Mūša, a river in Lithuania and Latvia
* Musa, Azerbaijan, a village in Yardymli Rayon
* Musa, Iran, a village in Ilam Province
*Musa, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Iran
*Musa, Kerman, Iran
* Musa, Bukan, West Azerbaijan ...
,'' and other
ginger
Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice
A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices ...
s,
Kress has extensively studied the systematics and plant animal interactions of this order.
His current research is focused on
biodiversity
Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...
genomics
Genomics is an interdisciplinary field of biology focusing on the structure, function, evolution, mapping, and editing of genomes. A genome is an organism's complete set of DNA, including all of its genes as well as its hierarchical, three-dim ...
,
conservation
Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws.
Conservation may also refer to:
Environment and natural resources
* Nature conservation, the protection and manageme ...
, and the
Anthropocene
The Anthropocene ( ) is a proposed geological epoch dating from the commencement of significant human impact on Earth's geology and ecosystems, including, but not limited to, anthropogenic climate change.
, neither the International Commissi ...
.
Kress' publications regarding the anthropocene warn that human created complexes, still-to-be-resolved issues, including the impacts of
climate change
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
, will endanger humanity's future if they are not addressed immediately.
Tropical plant diversity
Kress is responsible for the variety of ''Heliconias'' in Las Cruces Botanic Garden
as well but a garden planted in an enclosed aviary in
Dominica
Dominica ( or ; Kalinago: ; french: Dominique; Dominican Creole French: ), officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of the island. It is geographically ...
’s mountains. The main purpose of this garden was so that he and his colleagues could watch the hummingbirds interact with plants in an experimental situation. He claims that seeing that symbiosis between ''Heliconia'' and hummingbirds allowed him to gain deeper understanding of the mechanism of
evolution
Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...
.
Systematics and taxonomy
Published findings by Kress include the lineages of and the divergence of Zingiberales. His research found that
speciation
Speciation is the evolutionary process by which populations evolve to become distinct species. The biologist Orator F. Cook coined the term in 1906 for cladogenesis, the splitting of lineages, as opposed to anagenesis, phyletic evolution within ...
from the remaining
monocots
Monocotyledons (), commonly referred to as monocots, (Lilianae ''sensu'' Chase & Reveal) are grass and grass-like flowering plants (angiosperms), the seeds of which typically contain only one embryonic leaf, or cotyledon. They constitute one of t ...
occurred approximately 124 million years ago. In addition to discovering that major family-level lineages become established in the late
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of th ...
(80-110 mya), his research also found that
crown lineages within families began diversifying in the early to mid-
Tertiary
Tertiary ( ) is a widely used but obsolete term for the geologic period from 66 million to 2.6 million years ago.
The period began with the demise of the non-avian dinosaurs in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, at the start ...
(29-64 mya).
He aided in developing an award-winning smart-phone app,
Leafsnap
Automated species identification is a method of making the expertise of taxonomists available to ecologists, parataxonomists and others via digital technology and artificial intelligence. Today, most automated identification systems rely on image ...
, and works as the Principal Investigator of the Leaf Project at the Smithsonian. It is the first mobile tree identification smart-phone app was a collaboration between
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
and the
University of Maryland
The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...
.
Conservation
His role in collection management at the Smithsonian Institution has made him an spokesman for the importance of collections, explaining how the worldwide decline of specimens in the natural world increases their inherent value. He claims that as the world ages and the natural world changes, museum collections serve as a record for
phenology
Phenology is the study of periodic events in biological life cycles and how these are influenced by seasonality, seasonal and interannual variations in climate, as well as environmental factor, habitat factors (such as elevation).
Examples includ ...
as well as preserve beyond nature.
Many of his publications advocate for the conservation of tropical plants, specifically, Zingiberales.
Kress is an advocate for a biodiverse future, and serves on a panel that asks difficult questions about sustainability. His role as the director of the Consortium for Understanding and Sustaining a Biodiverse Planet at the Smithsonian Institution has made him a proponent of humans living sustainably prior to irreversible damage occurring to the planet. The consortium originated from a strategic 10-year plan put in place by the Smithsonian Institution to create interdisciplinary work by scholars both related and not related to the Institution. Sustained by a grant from the
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), a merging of the William H. Gates Foundation and the Gates Learning Foundation, is an American private foundation founded by Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates. Based in Seattle, Washington, it was ...
, the consortium promotes interactions between scholars in complementary fields and have resulted in the facilitation of new avenues of thought in scientific endeavors. Kress, as Director of the Biodiversity and Sustainability Consortium, brings together scientists from numerous fields to address broad research projects which dive deep into questions on biology with relevant societal impacts. Museum collections that Kress manages have aided in advancement of knowledge and understanding of both life on the planet and how it can be sustained.
Selected publications
*Betts, Matthew G., Hadley, Adam S. and Kress, W. J. 2015. Pollinator recognition by a keystone tropical plant. ''Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America'', 112(11): 3433-3438.
* Chen, Juan, Zhao, Jietang, Erickson, David L., Xia, Nianhe and Kress, W. J. 2015. Testing DNA barcodes in closely related species of ''Curcuma'' (Zingiberaceae) from Myanmar and China. ''Molecular Ecology Resources'', 15(2): 337-348.
* Bawa, K. S., Kress, W. John, Nadkarni, N. M. and Lele, S. 2004. Beyond paradise - meeting the challenge in tropical biology in the 21st Century. ''Biotropica'', 36: 437-446
*Kress, W. J., & Erickson, D. 2012. DNA Barcodes: Methods and Protocols. ''DNA Barcodes'', 3-8.
*Kress, W. J. 1990. The phylogeny and classification of the Zingiberales. ''Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden'', 77: 698-721
* Kress, W. J. 1996. Review of: Diversity and Evolutionary Biology of Tropical Flowers. ''Quart.Rev.Biol.'', 71: 124-125
*Kress, W. J. 1990. The diversity and distribution of ''Heliconia'' (Heliconiaceae) in Brazil. ''Acta botânica brasilica'', 4: 159-167
*Kress, W. J., Wurdack, Kenneth J., Zimmer, Elizabeth Anne, Weigt, Lee A. and Janzen, Daniel H. 2005. Use of DNA barcodes to identify flowering plants.''Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America'', 102: 8369-8374
Awards and distinctions
Kress is currently a
fellow
A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context.
In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements.
Within the context of higher education ...
of the
American Association for the Advancement of Science
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...
, a non-profit with the goal of promotion of science and defending scientific freedom. Members play an active role in advocacy for a future with science.
Additionally, since 1997 he has held the seat as Executive Director of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation.
He has been appointed as an
Adjunct Professor
An adjunct professor is a type of academic appointment in higher education who does not work at the establishment full-time. The terms of this appointment and
the job security of the tenure vary in different parts of the world, however the genera ...
of Biology at
George Mason University
George Mason University (George Mason, Mason, or GMU) is a public research university in Fairfax County, Virginia with an independent City of Fairfax, Virginia postal address in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area. The university was origin ...
in
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
, at
George Washington University
, mottoeng = "God is Our Trust"
, established =
, type = Private federally chartered research university
, academic_affiliations =
, endowment = $2.8 billion (2022)
, preside ...
in
Washington, DC
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...
, and at
Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden
Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG), of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), founded in 1959, is located in Mengla County, Xishuangbanna at 21º55' N, 101º15'E, covering an area of 1125 ha. Over 13,000 species of tropical plants a ...
,
Chinese Academy of Sciences
The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS); ), known by Academia Sinica in English until the 1980s, is the national academy of the People's Republic of China for natural sciences. It has historical origins in the Academia Sinica during the Republ ...
, in
Yunnan
Yunnan , () is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in Southwest China, the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is ...
.
* 2008: Lifetime Achievement Award from ''Heliconia'' Society International
* 2013: Honorary Fellow of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation
* 2013: Parker/Gentry Award for Excellence and Innovation in Conservation and Environmental Biology from the Field Museum
* 2018:
Edward O. Wilson
Edward Osborne Wilson (June 10, 1929 – December 26, 2021) was an American biologist, naturalist, entomologist and writer. According to David Attenborough, Wilson was the world's leading expert in his specialty of myrmecology, the study of ...
Biodiversity Technology Pioneer Award
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kress, W. John
1951 births
20th-century American botanists
21st-century American botanists
Duke University alumni
Harvard University alumni
Living people
Smithsonian Institution people
Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science