Joel Ephraim Cohen

NAS Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air (S ...

AAA&S APS CFR AAAS (born February 10, 1944) is a

mathematical biologist Mathematical and theoretical biology, or biomathematics, is a branch of biology which employs theoretical analysis, mathematical models and abstractions of living organisms to investigate the principles that govern the structure, development a ...

. He is

Abby Rockefeller Mauzé Abigail Aldrich Rockefeller Mauzé (November 9, 1903 – May 27, 1976) was an American philanthropist. She was the daughter of American philanthropists John D. Rockefeller Jr. and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller as well as a granddaughter of Standard ...

Professor of Populations at the

Rockefeller University The Rockefeller University is a Private university, private Medical research, biomedical Research university, research and graduate-only university in New York City, New York. It focuses primarily on the biological and medical sciences and pro ...

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as of 2025 and at the Earth Institute of

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, where he holds a joint appointment in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology, and the School of International and Public Affairs. He is also a member of the

Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank focused on Foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy and international relations. Founded in 1921, it is an independent and nonpartisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit organi ...

Education

Cohen grew up in Washington, D.C., and Michigan and graduated from Cranbrook School in 1961. He received his

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in applied mathematics from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in 1965, and earned a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

applied mathematics Applied mathematics is the application of mathematics, mathematical methods by different fields such as physics, engineering, medicine, biology, finance, business, computer science, and Industrial sector, industry. Thus, applied mathematics is a ...

from Harvard in 1970. In 1973, he received from Harvard another doctorate in population sciences and tropical public health. He received an honorary master's degree from the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

in 1974.

Research

Cohen has since taught or lectured at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

, the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, the

College of Notre Dame of Maryland Notre Dame of Maryland University is a private Catholic university in Baltimore, Maryland. NDMU offers certificate, undergraduate, and graduate programs for women and men. History The Roman Catholic academic/educational religious congregation ...

, the

National University of San Luis The National University of San Luis (in Spanish, ''Universidad Nacional de San Luis'', UNSL) is a public university in Argentina, with its seat in the city of San Luis, capital of the province of the same name, in the Cuyo region. It was created ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, the

Central University of Venezuela Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

, and the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

. He has also held numerous fellowships, including ones with the

Harvard Society of Fellows The Society of Fellows is a group of scholars selected at the beginnings of their careers by Harvard University for their potential to advance academic wisdom, upon whom are bestowed distinctive opportunities to foster their individual and intellect ...

John Simon Guggenheim Foundation The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation is a private foundation formed in 1925 by Olga and Simon Guggenheim in memory of their son, who died on April 26, 1922. The organization awards Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Gr ...

, the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, and the

John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is a private foundation that makes grants and impact investments to support non-profit organizations in approximately 117 countries around the world. It has an endowment of $7.6 billion and ...

. He was named "One of America's Top 100 Young Scientists" by

Science Digest ''Science Digest'' was a monthly American magazine published by the Hearst Corporation from 1937 through 1988. History ''Science Digest'' was first published in January 1937 in an 8 x 5 inch digest size format of about 100 pag ...

in 1984. His research has won him numerous awards, including the Sheps Award from the Population Association of America in 1992, the Distinguished Statistical Ecologist Award in 1994, the first Olivia Schieffelin Nordberg Award "for excellence in writing in the population sciences" in 1997, the Fred L. Soper Prize in 1998 of the Pan American Health Organization for his collaborative work on Chagas' disease, and the

Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement The Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement is an annual award for environmental science, environmental health, and energy. Tyler Laureates receive a $250,000 cash prize and a medallion. The prize is administered by the University of Southern Ca ...

in 1999. He is also a member of the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...

, the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

and the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

and has served on the governing boards of all three organizations. He served as a Special Master and member of the Selection Panel in the silicone gel breast implant products liability litigation before the United States District Court, Northern District of Alabama (Southern Division) in 1996; and as a U.S. Federal Court-appointed neutral expert (under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 706) for projection of asbestos-related claims against the Manville Personal Injury Settlement Trust, in the combined asbestos litigation in the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York, 1991–1995. He was a consultant to the law firm of Milbank, Tweed, Hadley and McCloy, New York, on the epidemiology of asbestos-related diseases from 1982 to 1986. Cohen was a member of the Board of Directors of The Nature Conservancy, Arlington, VA, 2000–2009, during which he co-chaired the Science Council, 2005–2009. He was also a member of the Board of Trustees of the New York State Nature Conservancy, 2001–2010, the Population Reference Bureau, Washington, DC, 2004–2010, and the Committee on Science, Technology and Law of the National Research Council, Washington, DC, 2000–2009.

Personal life

He was married to Audrey J. Biller from 1970 to 2002. Their son is Adam Cohen, Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology and of Physics at Harvard University. Their daughter is Zoe Cohen, a manager at

Doximity Doximity is an online networking service for medical professionals. Launched in 2010, the platform offers its members curated medical news, telehealth tools, and case collaboration. History The company was launched in March 2011 by co-founders ...

in San Francisco.

Publications

Cohen is the author or editor of 14 books and over 370 articles, including: * ''Food webs and niche space'' *''How Many People Can the Earth Support?'' *''Comparison of Stochastic Matrices, with Applications in Information Theory, Statistics, Economics and Population Sciences'' *''Forecasting Product Liability Claims: Epidemiology and Modeling in the Manville Asbestos Case'' *''Educating All Children: A Global Agenda'' *''International Perspectives on the Goals of Universal Basic and Secondary Education'' * ''Mathematics Is Biology's Next Microscope'' * ''Human population: the next half century'' * ''The population biology of invasive species'' * ''Food web patterns and their consequences''

References

External links

Video: Human population to 2050: problems and opportunities, Collège de France, Paris, France, 2009Video interview at Big Think 2010
*
"Mathematical Biologist Pushes Frontiers of Knowledge" 2013
Research news article published by

National Science Foundation The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is an Independent agencies of the United States government#Examples of independent agencies, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that su ...

.
"Biology's Coefficient: Joel Cohen uses the tools of mathematics to deconstruct questions of life" 2013
profile published by '' The Scientist''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cohen, Joel E. 1944 births Cranbrook Educational Community alumni Living people American theoretical biologists Fellows of the American Statistical Association Rockefeller University faculty Columbia University faculty Harvard College alumni Harvard University faculty MacArthur Fellows Stanford University faculty Notre Dame of Maryland University Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Mathematical ecologists Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Members of the American Philosophical Society Discover (magazine) people Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health alumni