Henry J. Oosting Memorial Lecture

The Oosting Lecture is an annual presentation by distinguished scholars with an international reputation in the field of Ecology.

The endowed lecture honors the preeminent plant ecologist, Henry J. Oosting, and is presented by the University Program in Ecology, the Nicholas School of the Environment, and the Department of Biology.

Professor of Environmental Sciences and Policy, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University

Dean Urban is an expert landscape ecologist that focuses on the agents and implications of pattern in forested landscapes. Increasingly, his research is in what has been termed “theoretical applied ecology,” developing new analytic approaches to applications of immediate practical concern such as conservation planning. A hallmark of his lab is the integration of field studies, spatial analysis, and simulation modeling in extrapolating our fine-scale empirical understanding of environmental issues to the larger space and time scales of management and policy.

Dr. Henry J. Oosting

Henry John Oosting (1903-1968) initiated the renowned program in plant ecology in Duke University’s Botany Department in 1932. During his 36 years on the faculty, 35 students received their PhD degrees under his guidance. Many of his students and their students in turn have gone on to develop successful plant ecology programs around the world.

Oosting’s own research was principally concerned with the structure and distribution of vegetation and with successional dynamics following disturbance of forested lands in North Carolina. He wrote a classic ecology text on the study of plant communities, co-authored a well-used spring flora of the piedmont of North Carolina, and served the Ecological Society of America in many capacities including the presidency. A portion of Duke Forest has been designated as the Henry J. Oosting Natural Area, creating a living memorial to Henry Oosting.

We are forever grateful for his leadership in the establishment of plant ecology as a science and for the exceptional program he and his students developed here at Duke University. We also acknowledge the establishment of this memorial lecture series by Mrs. Cornelia Oosting, and we thank his many friends and students for contributions to its continuation.