David R. Montgomery is a Professor of Earth and Space Sciences at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattl ...

in Seattle, where he is a member of the Quaternary Research Center. Montgomery received his B.S. in

geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ea ...

from Stanford University in 1984, and his Ph.D. in geomorphology from

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

in 1991. His research addresses the evolution of topography and the influence of geomorphological processes on

ecosystems An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syst ...

and human societies. His published work includes studies of the role of topsoil in human civilization, the evolution and near-extirpation of

salmon Salmon () is the common name for several commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family Salmonidae, which are native to tributaries of the North Atlantic (genus ''Salmo'') and North Pacific (genus '' Oncorhy ...

, geomorphological processes in mountain drainage basins, the evolution of mountain ranges, and the use of digital topography. He has conducted field research in eastern

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa, Taman ...

, South America, the Philippines, Alaska, and the American

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Tho ...

. Montgomery's first popular-audience book, ''King of Fish: The Thousand-Year Run of Salmon'' explored the history of salmon fisheries in Europe, New England, California, and the Pacific Northwest. It won the 2004

Washington State Book Award The Washington State Book Awards is a literary awards program presented annually in recognition of notable books written by Washington authors in the previous year. The program was established in 1967 as the Governor's Writers Awards. Each year, ...

in General Nonfiction. In 2008 Montgomery received a

MacArthur Fellowship The MacArthur Fellows Program, also known as the MacArthur Fellowship and commonly but unofficially known as the "Genius Grant", is a prize awarded annually by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation typically to between 20 and 30 indi ...

. His book, ''Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations'' won the 2008

in General Nonfiction. Montgomery's 2012 book, ''The Rocks Don't Lie: A Geologist Investigates Noah's Flood'' explores the relationship between catastrophic floods in the distant past, flood legends, "Noachian flood geology", and geologic discovery over the past several hundred years. It won the 2013

in General Nonfiction. After the catastrophic

Oso mudslide A major landslide occurred east of Oso, Washington, United States, on March 22, 2014, at 10:37 a.m. local time. A portion of an unstable hill collapsed, sending mud and debris to the south across the North Fork of the Stillaguamish River, ...

in Washington State in March, 2014, Montgomery appeared on various news segments to discuss the science behind landslides. He appears in

DamNation Damnation (from Latin '':wikt:damnatio, damnatio'') is the concept of Divine judgment, divine punishment and torment in an afterlife for actions that were committed, or in some cases, not committed on Earth. In Ancient Egyptian religion, Anci ...

the 2014 documentary film about dam removal in the United States. In 2015, Montgomery appeared, as a geologist, in the PBS documentary film, '' Making North America''. In 2016, Montgomery published ''The Hidden Half of Nature: The Microbial Roots of Life and Health'', a collaboration with Anne Biklé. The book addresses the relationship between microbial life, plants, and people. His most recent work, ''Growing A Revolution: Bringing Our Soil Back to Life'', was released with W.W. Norton and Company in May 2017. He married Anne B. Biklé on September 7, 2000. She is a biologist and landscape architect who has worked in "field biology, watershed restoration, environmental planning, and public health."

References

External links

David R. Montgomery home page

author page
* * * Living people Educators from Seattle Stanford University alumni University of California, Berkeley alumni University of Washington faculty Writers from Seattle MacArthur Fellows American geomorphologists Year of birth missing (living people) {{US-academic-bio-stub

References

Further reading

External links