Education
Academic Programs
Biography
With a Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from UC-San Diego, Ian was trained as a population and community ecologist with a field focus on ants and ant mutualisms. He has been the Executive Director of RMBL since 2000, where his focus is on leading a scientific institution serving field scientists and students. He chairs the National Science Foundation’s Biology Leadership Council for Research Experience for Undergraduates Program and serves on the Advisory Board of the Toolik Field Station (Univ. of Alaska) on the northern slope of Alaska. He was senior editor of the Ecology of Place (Univ. of Chicago Press) and recently published the popular book Explore/Discover. He has been actively involved in land management, including chairing Gunnison County’s Planning Commission for almost 4 years, and supporting large-scale land conservation through his work at RMBL. He currently serves as an elected official on the Gunnison County Metropolitan Recreation District and has gotten interested in managing the impacts of recreation on natural landscapes.