Leadership Transition in Place at Woods Hole Research Center

June 21, 2005

Dr. John P. Holdren

Dr. John P. Holdren

On June 4, under a tent on the front lawn of the Gilman Ordway Campus, the Woods Hole Research Center marked its twentieth anniversary and a transition in leadership, as John P. Holdren became President and Director, and George M. Woodwell became Director Emeritus and Senior Scientist.

Lawrence Huntington, chairman of the Board of Trustees, remarked, “On behalf of the trustees, I know that we are confident in John’s commitment to the outstanding leadership and clarity of vision that George has made a hallmark of the Woods Hole Research Center. Continuing the Center’s work with the great issues of the environment is especially crucial now, amid the escalation of climate change and discussion over viable energy solutions.”

Nearly 200 guests, including friends of the Center, members of the Woods Hole community and other local scientific institutions, trustees, and staff, attended. The program included the presentation to Dr. Woodwell of a framed photo of the Ordway Campus, listing all current and former staff to commemorate the success of the institution he founded in 1985.

According to R. A. Houghton, a senior scientist who has been with the Center since 1987 and who had worked with Woodwell for nearly 20 years before that, “The opportunity to represent the staff in recognizing the Director’s contributions was a very special privilege. George is a remarkable leader, not only in science, but also in selecting, inspiring, and directing those who carry out the Center’s objectives.”

The transition in directors is a first for the Center.

Dr. Holdren had served as a Visiting Distinguished Scientist and Trustee at the Center since 1991. He is also the Teresa and John Heinz Professor of Environmental Policy at Harvard University. An authority on global environmental problems, energy technology and policy, and nuclear nonproliferation, Holdren’s research has helped shape new understanding and new policies relating to causes and consequences of global climate change, energy strategy for sustainable development, and the protection of weapon-usable nuclear materials.

Holdren received the Volvo Environment Prize in 1993, the Tyler Environment Prize in 2000, and the Heinz Award in Public Policy in 2001. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and he is president-elect of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from M.I.T. in aeronautics and astronautics, and a Ph.D. from Stanford University in aeronautics/astronautics and theoretical plasma physics.

Of becoming director of the Center, Dr. Holdren commented, “The work of the Center has never been more important than it is today in shaping the understanding and action that will be needed to create and sustain improvements in human well-being in a world that is both finite and increasingly imperiled by human-induced climate change. While I bring my own ideas and experience to the task of extending and expanding the Center, my greatest asset in the task of leading the Center into its third decade is that I am the fortunate inheritor of the superb staff, board, and building that George built.”

Dr. George M. Woodwell

Dr. George M. Woodwell
Prior to founding the Woods Hole Research Center, George M. Woodwell served as Deputy Director, Assistant Director for Education, and Distinguished Scientist at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) from 1975 to 1985. He was also the Founder and Director of the MBL’s Ecosystems Center. Dr. Woodwell served as President of the Ecological Society of America from 1977-78 and was a founding trustee of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Environmental Defense, and the World Resources Institute.

Dr. Woodwell’s research has focused on the structure and function of natural communities and their role as segments of the biosphere. He has worked extensively in forests and estuaries in North America and has made well-known studies of the ecological effects of ionizing radiation and the circulation and effects of pesticides and other toxins.

Dr. Woodwell earned his master’s and doctoral degrees from Duke University and his bachelor’s from Dartmouth College. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 1996, he received the Heinz Environmental Prize. In 2000, he received the John H. Chafee Excellence in Environmental Affairs Award. In 2001, he received the Volvo Environment Prize.

According to Amy Regan, a member of the Board of Trustees, “John possesses both a deep appreciation for George’s work and an ability to shape the vision and work of the Center in new and meaningful directions. With his experience and strength, the Center is poised for an exciting time.”