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Niles Eldredge | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1943-08-24)August 24, 1943 (age 82) |
| Alma mater | Columbia University (BA,PhD) |
| Known for | Macroevolution; punctuated equilibria; biodiversity crisis |
| Awards | Charles Schuchert Award (1979) Paleontological Society Medal (2008) |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | Columbia University |
| Thesis | Geographic variation and evolution in Phacops rana (Green 1832) and Phacops iowensis Delo, 1935, in the Middle Devonian of North America (1969) |
| Academic advisors | Norman D. Newell |
| Doctoral students | Gregory Edgecombe,[1]Bruce S. Lieberman |
| Website | nileseldredge |
Niles Eldredge (/ˈɛldrɪdʒ/ELD-rij; born August 25, 1943) is an Americanbiologist andpaleontologist, who, along withStephen Jay Gould, proposed the theory ofpunctuated equilibrium in 1972.[2][3][4][5][6]
Eldredge began his undergraduate studies inLatin atColumbia University. Before completing his degree, he switched to the study ofgeology underNorman D. Newell. It was at this time that his work at the American Museum of Natural History began under the combined Columbia University-American Museum graduate studies program.
Eldredge graduatedsumma cum laude fromColumbia College of Columbia University in 1965, and enrolled in the university's doctoral program while continuing his research at the museum. He completed his PhD in 1969.
In 1969, Eldredge became a curator in the Department of Invertebrates at theAmerican Museum of Natural History, and subsequently a curator in the Invertebrate Paleontology section, a position from which he recently[when?] retired. He was also an adjunct professor at theCity University of New York. His specialty was the evolution of mid-PaleozoicPhacopida trilobites, a group of extinctarthropods that lived between 543 and 245 million years ago.
Eldredge andStephen Jay Gould proposedpunctuated equilibria in 1972. Punctuated equilibrium is a refinement to evolutionary theory. It describes patterns of descent taking place in "fits and starts" separated by long periods of stability.
Eldredge went on to develop a hierarchical vision ofevolutionary andecological systems. Around this time, he became focused on the rapid destruction of many of the world's habitats and species. In his bookUnfinished Synthesis (1985), he proposed anextended evolutionary synthesis.[7]
Throughout his career, he has used repeated patterns in the history of life to refine ideas on how the evolutionary process actually works. Eldredge is proponent of the importance of environment in explaining the patterns in evolution.
Eldredge is a critic of thegene-centered view of evolution. His most recent venture is the development of an alternative account to the gene-based notions ofevolutionary psychology to explain human behavior.
He has published more than 160 scientific articles, books, and reviews, includingReinventing Darwin, an examination of current controversies in evolutionarybiology, andDominion, a consideration of the ecological and evolutionary past, present, and future ofHomo sapiens.
Since 2013, Eldredge has been listed on the Advisory Council of theNational Center for Science Education.[8]
Eldredge enjoys playingjazztrumpet and is an avid collector of 19th centurycornets; he has more than 500 in his home inRidgewood, New Jersey.[9]
Eldredge possesses a chart of the historical development ofcornets (the musical instruments), which he uses as a comparison with that of the development oftrilobites. The differences between them are meant to highlight the failures ofintelligent design by comparing a system that is definitely designed, with a system that is not designed.[citation needed]
In January 2017, Eldredge became an 'Initiator' for theRefuse Fascism movement launched in the United States just months after the2016 U.S. Presidential Election. The movement was an effort to denyBarack Obama's successor -Donald Trump - from taking office onInauguration Day (January 20, 2017). The group's aim was to 'stop theTrump-Pence regime before it starts.'[10]
