Prestigious Honor Conferred on BIOS Trustee
Jim Galloway, professor of environmental sciences at the University of Virginia (UVA) and vice-chair of the BIOS Board of Trustees, was recently elected to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), one of the highest honors for a scientist.
The NAS, which was established by an act of U.S. Congress in 1863, is tasked with advising the government on a wide range of topics in science, engineering, and medicine. Each year, current members elect a maximum of 120 new members, as well as 30 international members, “in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.”
Galloway, who has been a faculty member at UVA since 1976, was one of the first scientists to study the newly identified phenomenon of acid rain in the mid-1970s. His work on acid rain sparked his curiosity about the nitrogen cycle, and led to his development of the “nitrogen cascade” to describe the impacts of fertilizer and fossil fuel byproducts—a concept for which he was awarded the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement in 2008. He has been called a “pioneer and an exceptional leader” for his work on global biogeochemical processes that are modified by human impact, as well as alerting the international community to the environmental consequences of these modifications.
He has sat on the BIOS board since 1982, serving as vice president for a decade beginning in 1987, followed by another seven years as board president. Please join the entire BIOS faculty and staff as we extend our sincerest congratulations to Jim Galloway on his most recent honor and achievement.
“I am very honored to be elected to the NAS,” Galloway said. “I am also very appreciative of my colleagues and friends who have been with me in this journey of inquiry over the decades. And of course, BIOS looms large in this regard. What began in the late 1970s as a convenient spot in the mid-Atlantic to measure the long range transport of pollutants off of North America, has become an institution that is near and dear to my heart for two reasons—it is a great place for intellectual enquiry and it is filled with people who are inspirational with their dedication to the institution and the science and education that it does. Thank you BIOS!”