Mark W. Moffett Explained

Mark Moffett (born 7 January 1958) is a tropical biologist who studies the ecology of tropical forest canopies and the social behavior of animals (especially ants) and humans. He is also the author of several popular science books and is noted for his macrophotography documenting ant biology.[1]

Early life and education

Moffett was born in Salida, Colorado, where his father was a Presbyterian minister. As a young boy, he was interested in insects and when the family moved to Wisconsin, he attended meetings of the Wisconsin Herpetological Society, where, at 12, he was the youngest member. Although a high-school drop out he was admitted to Beloit College, and at 17 he was invited to a collecting trip to Costa Rica. He came across the book The Insect Societies and wrote to the author E.O. Wilson before he met him and went on to research under him.[2] Moffett received his Ph.D. in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology from Harvard University in 1989 under Wilson.[3] Moffett is a Research Associate in the Department of Entomology at the National Museum of Natural History in the Smithsonian Institution.[4]

Awards, exhibits and media

Moffett is a past Yale University Poynter Fellow in journalism,[5] received a Bowdoin Prize from Harvard University,[6] the Lowell Thomas Medal from The Explorers Club in 2006,[7] a National Outdoor Book Award in 2010,[8] a PROSE (Professional and Scholarly Excellence) Award from the Association of American Publishers in 2010,[9] and awards for his photography from World Press Photo Foundation[10] and Pictures of the Year International.[11] [12]

In 2009, the exhibition Farmers Warriors, Builders: the Hidden Life on Ants opened at the National Museum of Natural History in the Smithsonian Institution, containing 40 of Moffett’s images.[4] [13] Moffett is a lecturer for the National Geographic Society[14] and was a speaker for the World Science Festival in 2013.[15] Moffett has appeared multiple times on the Late Night with Conan O'Brien and The Colbert Report.[16] He has also been interviewed in such radio programs as National Geographic’s Weekend Edition,[17] "Fresh Air" and other NPR programs,[18] [19] West Coast Live!,[20] Voice of America,[21] CBS Sunday Morning,[22] and Living on Earth.[23]

The ant species Pheidole moffetti from French Guiana was named after him by Edward O. Wilson in 2003.[24]

Publications

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Academics. www.doctorbugs.com. 2019-04-08.
  2. Web site: The Atavist Magazine. Before the swarm. Griffin, Nicholas. 2011. 2019-04-13.
  3. Web site: Photographer Mark Moffett Biography - . https://web.archive.org/web/20190821134216/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/contributors/m/photographer-mark-moffett/ . dead . August 21, 2019 . National Geographic . 25 April 2016.
  4. Web site: AntLab - Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. naturalhistory.si.edu.
  5. News: Poynter Fellowship: Mark Moffett. Office of Public Affairs & Communications. 2019-04-08. en.
  6. Ariely, D., Tim Folger, T. (2012) The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2012 Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, p. 318
  7. Web site: The Lowell Thomas Award - Discoveries in the Treetops . explorers.org.
  8. Web site: 2010 Winners of the National Outdoor Book Awards . www.noba-web.org.
  9. Web site: UC Press honored with five PROSE Awards . www.ucpress.edu.
  10. Web site: 1992 Photo Contest, Science & Technology, Stories, Honorable mention. www.worldpressphoto.org.
  11. Web site: First Place - Science/Natural History Picture Story . www.poy.org.
  12. Web site: Third Place - News . www.poy.org.
  13. News: Event Calendar | Washington Post | Washington, DC . https://web.archive.org/web/20101121035747/http://www.washingtonpost.com/gog/exhibits/farmers-warriors-builders-the-hidden-life-of-ants,1156877.html . dead . 2010-11-21 . Washington Post . 2019-01-26.
  14. Web site: Speaker's Bureau . 2010-05-06 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100428074755/http://events.nationalgeographic.com/events/speakers-bureau/speaker/mark-moffett/ . 2010-04-28 .
  15. Web site: The Moth StorySLAM: Natural Selection . World Science Festival.
  16. Web site: Mark Moffett. IMDb.
  17. Web site: Nat Geo Weekend Edition . . 2010-05-06 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100329220041/http://www.nationalgeographic.com/radio/national-geographic-weekend.html . 2010-03-29 .
  18. Web site: Ants: 'A Global Safari With A Cast Of Trillions' . NPR.org . en.
  19. Web site: The Savage, Beautiful World of Army Ants. NPR.org.
  20. Web site: Show Archive . www.wcl.org . West Coast Live! . https://web.archive.org/web/20040412030856/http://www.wcl.org/showarchive_2004.html . April 12, 2004.
  21. Web site: Farmers, Warriors, Builders: The Hidden Life of Ants. VOA. 2 November 2009 .
  22. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/small-wonders-what-ants-can-teach-us/ CBS Sunday Morning
  23. Web site: Living on Earth: May 13, 1994. Living on Earth / World Media Foundation / Public Radio. International. Living on Earth.
  24. Book: 463 . French Guiana Pheidole in the New World: A Dominant, Hyperdiverse Ant Genus. Volume 1. Harvard University Press. 2003. Wilson, Edward O..

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