UMSL professor only Missourian elected to National Academy of Sciences this year
Robert Ricklefs, a University of Missouri-St. Louis biology professor, was the only Missourian amongst the 72 scientists elected to the highly-prestigious National Academy of Sciences this year. The academy announced the list of new members last week.
That makes Ricklefs only the 25th living Missourian to become part of the elite 2,150-member academy. Also on the list are local scientific giants such as Peter Raven from the Missouri Botanical Garden and Robert Beachy of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center. Here is a breakdown of the Missouri institutions that have members in the academy:
- Washington University, 15
- University of Missouri-Columbia, 4
- Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, 2
- St. Louis University, 1
- Monsanto Company, 1
- Missouri Botanical Garden, 1
Ricklefs is the first UMSL scientist to be elected to the academy. His research focuses on evolutionary biology, including various aspects of diversification of birds and their growth and life histories.
“This is clearly a tribute to his prowess as a scientist and academician, and reflects well on the overall caliber of our young institution,” UMSL Chancellor Thomas George said in a news release. “When I was a dean at the University at Buffalo, a colleague there had to win the Nobel Prize in chemistry before election to the NAS. Ricklefs is indeed part of a very select group.”
The National Academy of Sciences was established in 1863 by a congressional act of incorporation signed by Abraham Lincoln. It is supposed to act as an official adviser, upon request, to the federal government on science and technology matters. Two hundred of the Academy’s members have won Nobel Prizes.
Members are elected to the academy by current members. Every year, 72 people are elected to the academy.
The Grade is the St. Louis region’s premier blog on education and child welfare. To read other recent posts, go to www.stltoday.com/thegrade.
Kavita Kumar covers higher education for the Post-Dispatch. 
Would it be possible to include more info about Prof. Ricklefs. Age, tenure at UMSL, etc???
Ricklefs has been at UMSL since 1995. Here’s a bit more background about him from the university’s press release:
“Ricklefs is author or coauthor of four books, including two popular textbooks, almost 300 papers and more than 80 other articles. His research spans a variety of subjects in evolutionary biology, focusing on various aspects of the diversification of birds and their growth and life histories. He also has worked on the evolution of plants and other organisms.
Ricklefs has received many awards, including the Fellows’ Award from the St. Louis Academy of Sciences and a President’s Award for Research and Creativity from the University of Missouri System.
He earned a bachelor’s degree from Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif. and a doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.”