Join the Cary Institute for a special lecture by herpetologist Harry Greene, who will discuss his book,Tracks and Shadows: Field Biology as Art. Through an exploration of frogs, snakes, African megafauna and other charismatic wildlife, Greene will reveal how natural history, aesthetics, and ethics underpin conservation.
Greene’s research concerns the behavior, ecology, evolution, and conservation biology of vertebrates. Most of his work has taken place in Latin America and the U.S. - Mexico borderlands, tackling questions such as the origin of the rattle, factors controlling local and regional species richness, and ways that science enhances nature appreciation.
He has written some 200 publications, including Snakes: the Evolution of Mystery in Nature, which won a PEN Literary Award and made the New York Times’ annual list of 100 Most Notable Books. His latest book, Tracks and Shadows: Field Biology as Art, is both an autobiography and a celebration of beauty in nature. Frances Bonier of Science writes, “Greene engages readers from beginning to end. The book leaves us with questions to ponder but also with inspiration to indulge our curiosity for nature.”
Before becoming a Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Cornell University, Greene was a Professor and Curator in the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology at the University of California, Berkeley. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee, a Master of Arts degree from the University of Texas, and served as a medic in the U.S. Army.
His honors include Berkeley’s Distinguished Teaching Award, the Edward O. Wilson Naturalist Award, and a Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellowship. Greene was named a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and California Academy of Sciences and served as president of the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists.Business Insider named him one of Cornell’s “Top Ten Professors.”
