Goldberg named AAAS Fellow for contributions to advancing community ecology
Professor Deborah Goldberg is a newly elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science “for distinguished contributions to community ecology with special reference to the mechanisms of species interactions and their role in community structure, dynamics and function.”
Election as a fellow, a tradition that began in 1874, is an honor bestowed upon AAAS members by their peers. AAAS fellows are recognized for their "scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications." Goldberg is one of eight University of Michigan faculty members among 401 fellows elected this year. “I am so honored,” said Goldberg.
The awards were announced Monday, Nov. 24, 2014 by AAAS. Founded in 1848, it is the world's largest general scientific society and publisher of the journal Science.
Goldberg, Elzada U. Clover Collegiate Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, has been on the faculty at the University of Michigan since 1983. She was chair of the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from 2003 - 2013 and served as the interim director of the University Herbarium from 2002 - 3.
Goldberg’s research investigates the processes that underlie patterns in plant community dynamics, structure, and function, combining experiments in the field, mesocosms, and greenhouse, field surveys at scales from centimeters to kilometers, and modeling to integrate results across approaches and scales. In many cases, her lab uses invasive species as model systems to investigate basic questions in community and ecosystem ecology. She has a number of ongoing research grants including from the U-M Water Center, the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Goldberg is the principal investigator on a $2 million NSF grant for the M-STEM Academies at U-M, an integrated approach to increase the number and diversity of undergraduates in STEM disciplines.
She is currently on sabbatical but has been teaching Population and Community Ecology and organizing a weekly Plant Ecology Discussion Group for graduate and undergraduate students. Goldberg has mentored 12 postdoctoral fellows, 14 doctoral students, and two master’s students, who have continued on to successful careers. She’s published 85 research papers to date in major scientific journals.
