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Margaret Palmer, Director of the National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center (SESYNC) and a professor of entomology, has been named a 2015 Distinguished University Professor of the University of Maryland (UMD). It is the university's highest academic honor.
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Dr. Palmer joined UMD in 1989 as an assistant professor in biology. With a background in hydrology and ecology, Palmer has contributed to testing and extending fundamental theory in marine and stream ecosystems on the interactions between organisms, boundary layer flows and geomorphic processes. She is an international expert on the restoration of streams and rivers, and co-author of the book Foundations of Restoration Ecology. She has worked extensively on the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem processes, the biogeochemistry of streams and wetlands, and organism dispersal in aquatic ecosystems.
Palmer is also known for her work at the interface of water science and policy, having served as a technical advisor and innovator to help build solution-focused teams that solve problems with social, legal, policy and scientific aspects. As the Director of SESYNC, Palmer oversees collaborative, cross-disciplinary research groups that work to identify data-driven solutions to society’s most challenging and complex environmental problems and ultimately inform decision makers.
Palmer is a fellow of the Ecological Society of America and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She has also participated as a fellow in the Aldo Leopold Leadership Program and the Lilly Fellows Program, and received the Award of Research Excellence from the Society for Freshwater Science.
Click here to read the UMD College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences announcement.
The National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center, funded through an award to the University of Maryland from the National Science Foundation, is a research center dedicated to accelerating scientific discovery at the interface of human and ecological systems. Visit us online at www.sesync.org and follow us on Twitter @SESYNC.
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