Quentin D. Wheeler
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Quentin Duane Wheeler (born January 31, 1954) is an American entomologist,
taxonomist In biology, taxonomy () is the scientific study of naming, defining ( circumscribing) and classifying groups of biological organisms based on shared characteristics. Organisms are grouped into taxa (singular: taxon) and these groups are give ...
, author and
newspaper columnist A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the form of a short essay ...
, and is the founding director of the
International Institute for Species Exploration The International Institute for Species Exploration (IISE) is a research institute located in Syracuse, New York. Its mission is to improve taxonomical exploration and the cataloging of new species of flora and fauna. Since 2008, IISE has publ ...
. He was the fourth President of the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, in Syracuse, New York until his retirement. Other positions have included: professor of entomology at
Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...
and Arizona State University; Keeper and Head of Entomology at the
Natural History Museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleontology, climatology, and more. ...
in London; and Director of the Division of Environmental Biology at the
National Science Foundation The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National ...
.


Education

Wheeler holds bachelor (1976), master's (1977) and Ph.D. (1980) degrees in entomology from
Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...
."Quentin Wheeler Chosen as New President of SUNY-ESF,"
SUNY-ESF, November 15, 2013. Accessed: February 22, 2014.
His Ph.D. dissertation is titled, ''"Comparative
morphology Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines * Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts * Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies ...
,
cladistics Cladistics (; ) is an approach to biological classification in which organisms are categorized in groups (" clades") based on hypotheses of most recent common ancestry. The evidence for hypothesized relationships is typically shared derived cha ...
, and a revised classification of the genera Lymexylidae ( Coleoptera), including descriptions of two new genera".''


Career

Wheeler was a faculty member for 24 years at
Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...
, where he earned the rank of tenured full professor. He was chair of entomology and director of the Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium at
Cornell Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach a ...
. Wheeler also previously served as the Keeper and Head of Entomology at the
Natural History Museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleontology, climatology, and more. ...
in London from 2004–2006, and was director of the Division of
Environmental Biology Environmental science is an interdisciplinary academic field that integrates physics, biology, and geography (including ecology, chemistry, plant science, zoology, mineralogy, oceanography, limnology, soil science, geology and physical geogra ...
at the
National Science Foundation The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National ...
from 2001-2004. Wheeler joined Arizona State University in 2006. He was the Virginia M. Ullman Professor of Natural History and the Environment, and founding executive director of the
International Institute for Species Exploration The International Institute for Species Exploration (IISE) is a research institute located in Syracuse, New York. Its mission is to improve taxonomical exploration and the cataloging of new species of flora and fauna. Since 2008, IISE has publ ...
. Wheeler served as interim dean of the Division of Natural Sciences in 2006, and in 2007 was appointed to the position of vice president and dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, a position he held until 2011. He was President of the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry from January 2014 through June 2018.


Research

Wheeler's research career has focused on the role of species exploration and natural history collections in the exploration and conservation of
biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...
; theory and practice of
phylogenetic systematics Cladistics (; ) is an approach to biological classification in which organisms are categorized in groups ("clades") based on hypotheses of most recent common ancestry. The evidence for hypothesized relationships is typically shared derived chara ...
and cybertaxonomy; the evolution and classification of insects, especially beetles; and public
science education Science education is the teaching and learning of science to school children, college students, or adults within the general public. The field of science education includes work in science content, science process (the scientific method), som ...
. He has received a number of academic honors, including fellowships from the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Linnean Society of London and Royal Entomological Society. He has had three species of beetles named in his honor, such as ''Tonerus wheeleri'', ''Eleodes wheeleri'', and ''Agathisium wheeleri''. He is the author of approximately 150 scientific articles and six books, including ''What on Earth? – 100 of Our Planet's Most Amazing New Species''. He has named more than 100 new species and writes a periodic column on new species for ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' newspaper in London.


Key works

;Articles Among Wheeler's most highly cited articles are: * * * * ;Books Wheeler's most widely held books include:"Quentin Wheeler,"
WorldCat. Accessed: 31 May 2015.
* Wheeler, Quentin D., and Meredith Blackwell, eds. 1984. ''Fungus-insect relationships: perspectives in ecology and evolution''. New York: Columbia University Press. * Novacek, Michael J., and Quentin Wheeler, eds. 1992. ''Extinction and phylogeny''. New York: Columbia University Press. * Wheeler, Quentin D., and Rudolf Meier, eds. 2000. ''Species concepts and phylogenetic theory: a debate.'' New York: Columbia University Press. * Wheeler, Quentin D., eds. 2008. ''The New Taxonomy''. Boca Raton: CRC Press. * Knapp, Sandra, and Quentin D. Wheeler, eds. 2009. ''Letters to Linnaeus''. London: Linnean Society of London. * Wheeler, Quentin D., and Sara Pennak. 2013. ''What on Earth? 100 of our planet's most amazing new species''. New York: Plume. * Williams, David, Schmitt, Michael, and Quentin Wheeler, eds. 2016. "The future of phylogenetic systematics: The legacy of Willi Hennig". Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.


See also

*
List of heads of the New York State College of Forestry This article lists heads of the New York State College of Forestry, both at Cornell University and later at Syracuse University; and its successor, the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, in Syracuse, New ...
*
Phylogenetics In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups ...
*
Taxonomy Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification. A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...


References


Further reading


“President Who Ousted 3 Chairs Will Step Down”Jackson, Nicholas. (2011, November 18). "A Conversation With Quentin D. Wheeler, Sustainability Scientist,"
'' The Atlantic Magazine''.
Tobin, Dave. (2013, November 15). "SUNY ESF's next president, Quentin Wheeler, is a bug expert,"
''
The Post-Standard ''The Post-Standard'' is a newspaper serving the greater Syracuse, New York, metro area. Published by Advance Publications, it and sister website Syracuse.com are among the consumer brands of Advance Media New York, alongside NYUp.com and ''The ...
''. *
World Future Society The World Future Society (WFS), founded in 1966, is an international community of futurists and future thinkers. History Prominent members and contributors have included Ray Kurzweil, Peter Drucker, Carl Sagan, and Neil deGrasse Tyson N ...
. (n.d.)
"The Futurist Interviews Quentin Wheeler, Biologist, on the Future of Biodiversity."


External links

* Wheeler, Quentin. (2010 - )
"New to nature" (column)
''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', UK * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wheeler, Quentin Duane 1954 births American entomologists American non-fiction environmental writers American science writers American taxonomists Arizona State University faculty Cornell University faculty Leaders of the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry Living people United States National Science Foundation officials People associated with the Natural History Museum, London Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences alumni Phylogenetics researchers Scientists from New York (state) State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry faculty The Guardian people