Robert C. Gilman is a thinker on sustainability who, along with his late wife Diane Gilman, has researched and written about

ecovillage An ecovillage is a traditional or intentional community with the goal of becoming more socially, culturally, economically, and/or ecologically sustainable. An ecovillage strives to produce the least possible negative impact on the natural e ...

s. The Gilmans’ work was important in giving definition to the ecovillage movement and shaping the direction of the Global Ecovillage Network. In 1991, the Gilmans co-authored ''Eco-Villages and Sustainable Communities'', a seminal study of ecovillages for Gaia Trust. Also in 1991, Gilman, who was publisher of the magazine ''In Context'', wrote an article entitled “The Eco-village Challenge” that set out a definition of an ecovillage as a: *human-scale *full-featured settlement *in which human activities are harmlessly integrated into the natural world *in a way that is supportive of healthy human development and can be successfully continued into the indefinite future

This definition was to become the standard definition on which the ecovillage movement was founded and is still considered by many to be the most authoritative.

From astrophysics to global sustainability

Gilman's academic training is in astrophysics. He graduated from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

in 1967 with a bachelor's in

astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, g ...

. He received a Ph.D. in astrophysics from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

in 1969. Gilman has taught and conducted research at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...

, the Harvard Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and was a research associate at

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...

's Institute for Space Studies. Another phase of Gilman's life began in the mid 1970s when he decided that "the stars could wait, but the planet couldn't." He turned his attention to the study of global sustainability, futures research and strategies for positive cultural change. He and Diane designed and built their own solar home in 1975. In 1979 they founded the Context Institute, one of the earliest NGOs to focus on sustainability. In 1983 the Context Institute began publishing ''In Context'', A Quarterly of Humane Sustainable Culture, with Gilman as editor. ''In Context'' won Utne Reader's Alternative Press Award for "Best Coverage of Emerging Issues" in 1991 and 1994. Gilman was a member of the Langley, Washington City Council until 2011. He has now focused his time on the Bright Future program, including th
Bright Future Now
course and th
Bright Future Network

External links

Biography - Robert Gilman
American astronomers Sustainability advocates University of California, Berkeley alumni Princeton University alumni University of Minnesota faculty Harvard University staff Year of birth missing (living people) Living people {{Sustainability-stub