Office of Advancement and Alumni Relations
4400 University Drive, MS 1A3
Fairfax, Virginia 22030
703-993-8850
A Celebration Symposium for Dr. Lovejoy
Mason is holding a symposium dedicated to
Dr. Lovejoy and his life’s work.
Join us for a day of celebrating Dr. Lovejoy’s legacy in research and policy with some of his closest collaborators, students, and friends. We will explore the scientific impact of his work and his incredible contributions to conservation and sustainability.
Come and celebrate by providing your RSVP below.
Follow a manual added link
Event details:
Date and time
Thu, May 19, 2022
8:30 AM – 7:00 PM EDT
Location
George Mason University
Merten Hall Room 1201
4400 University Drive
Fairfax, VA 22030
Parking Information
Guests to Mason will be able to park for free at the Rappahannock River Parking Deck Map, adjacent to Merten Hall
Honoring a legacy of public service and inspired action
About Thomas E. Lovejoy
Dr. Thomas E. Lovejoy (1941-2021) was a pathbreaking conservation biologist whose life and deeds serve as a model for blending scientific excellence with public service. In a career that spanned six decades of research, advocacy, and policy innovation linking the Amazon rainforest, conservation policy, and international collaborations on climate action, Dr. Lovejoy dedicated himself to the most pressing issues of our time. He did so as a bridge builder, bringing together cutting-edge research on complex social and environmental systems with the imagination and communication skills that drive policy and collective action.
Thomas E. Lovejoy Symposium
Thursday, May 19, 2022
George Mason University Fairfax Campus
Merten Hall and Streaming
8:30 am
Registration and light breakfast
9:00 am
Welcoming remarks
Gregory Washington, George Mason University President, and
Ellen Stofan, Under Secretary for Science and Research, Smithsonian Institution
9:30 am
Remembering Tom Lovejoy
Fernando Miralles-Wilhelm, Dean of the College of Science, George Mason University
9:40 am
Tom the Storyteller: A Visual and Audio Tribute
Daniel Reed, GMU Center for Climate Change Communication, and Frank Sesno, George Washington University.
10:00 am
Memorial Keynote on Lovejoy’s Academic Legacy
Stuart Pimm, Duke University and Saving Nature
10:40 am
Coffee break.
10:50 am
Past, Present, and Future of Biodiversity
Jane Lubchenco, White House Deputy Director for Climate and the Environment
11:20 am
Science, Policy, and Global Futures
Monica Medina, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, US State Department
11:50 am
Climate Change & Global Science in Amazonia
Carlos Nobre, University of São Paulo
12:30-1:15 pm
Lunch on site.
1:15 pm
The Forest Fragments Project: Tom’s Visionary Research
Rob Bierregaard, Drexel University
José Luis Camargo, Brazil’s National Institute of Amazonian Research
Rita Mesquita, Brazil’s National Institute of Amazonian Research
Francisco Dallmeier, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute
David Luther, George Mason University
Moderator: Alonso Aguirre, George Mason University
2:25 pm
Tom’s Legacy in Student Research and Mentorship
Tovah Siegel, George Mason University
Sudha Balajapalli, George Mason University
Advait Jukar, Yale University
Rachel Golden Kroner, Conservation International
Charles Coddington, George Mason University
Moderator: Karen Akerlof, George Mason University
3:30 pm
Coffee break.
3:40 pm
Lovejoy’s Legacy in Policy and Global Advocacy
Russell Mittermeier, Re:Wild & formerly of Conservation International
Emma Torres, UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network
Alex Moen, National Geographic
Kaitlin Yarnall, National Geographic
Paulo Sotero, Wilson Center’s Brazil Institute
Michelle Wyman, Global Council for Science and the Environment
Moderator: Jeremy Campbell, Institute for a Sustainable Earth
5:00 pm
Closing Remarks
Mark Ginsberg, Provost and Executive Vice President, George Mason University
5:30 pm
Reception: Appetizers and Open Bar, until 7:00 pm.
Note:
Andre Marshall, Vice President for Research at George Mason University, will introduce Gregory Washington, Ellen Stofan, Dean Miralles-Wilhelm, Dan Reed and Frank Sesno, and Stuart Pimm.
Leah Nichols, Executive Director of the Institute for a Sustainable Earth at GMU, will introduce Jane Lubchenco, Monica Medina, and Carlos Nobre.
About the Thomas E. Lovejoy PhD Fellowship Program
In recognition of his enormous contributions and in an effort to inspire the next generation of public-interest scientists, George Mason University is proud to establish the Thomas E. Lovejoy PhD Fellowship Program for doctoral students.
All incoming PhD students, regardless of department or program, are eligible for consideration, and the program will support up to four Scholars at any given time. In addition to their regular duties, Lovejoy Scholars will participate in cohort-building activities in the Washington DC region that will prepare students to make positive impacts in the realms of public policy and public-interest science, including media training at the Smithsonian, non-profit management training through the Smithsonian, as well as research activities through the Mason Institute for a Sustainable Earth, the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, the Smithsonian Mason School of Conservation, the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (Panama), and/or the Amazon Forest Fragments Project (Brazil).
The Lovejoy Fellowship Program is designed as a joint program with the Smithsonian Institution. The program awards four years of comprehensive funding (tuition, benefits, and research stipend) over all 12 months to incoming George Mason University PhD students whose research and professional aspirations contribute to an interdisciplinary understanding of biodiversity, conservation science, climate change, or environmental policy.
Lovejoy Scholars will be selected through a joint committee of Mason and Smithsonian scientists.