DURHAM, N.C. – Dean L. Urban, professor of environmental sciences and policy at Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment, has received the 2014 Distinguished Landscape Ecologist Award from the U.S. Chapter of the International Association of Landscape Ecologists (US-IALE).

The award, which was presented May 20, is the highest honor bestowed by US-IALE.  It is presented annually to an individual whose thinking and writing have helped shape the field of landscape ecology.

Widely recognized for his expertise in developing new theories and models that shed light on how ecological processes work over larger time and space scales, Urban has published more than 100 scientific papers, including a landmark 1987 BioScience paper, “Landscape Ecology,” that has been cited more than 1,000 times. His work on habitat connectivity and suitability has had far-reaching influence in conservation science, endangered species management, land-use planning and other critical fields.

In selecting him for the honor, the US-IALE nominating committee noted that he has “distinguished himself over his career as a leading landscape ecology researcher, significantly advancing the theoretical, analytical and computational approaches to landscape ecological questions.”

Urban received his PhD in 1986 from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. He chairs the Nicholas School’s Division of Environmental Sciences and Policy, and from 2010 to 12 served as US-IALE’s president.

For more information about Urban’s research and teaching, go to www.nicholas.duke.edu/people/faculty/urban. For more information about US-IALE and its programs, go to www.usiale.org.

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