Sharon Y. Strauss (born 1956) is an American evolutionary ecologist. She is a Professor of Evolution and Ecology at the

University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The inst ...

Early life and education

Strauss was born in 1956 in New York. She earned her

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

degree from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

before enrolling in 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 university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

and Florida State University for her MA and PhD. While attending Florida State University, she received the 1987 Murray F. Buell Award for Excellence in Ecology from the

Ecological Society of America The Ecological Society of America (ESA) is a professional organization of ecological scientists. Based in the United States and founded in 1915, ESA publications include peer-reviewed journals, newsletters, fact sheets, and teaching resources. I ...

Career

Upon completing her PhD, Strauss became a Professor of Evolution and Ecology at the

. In 2001, she co-directed UC Davis Center for Population Biology project titled "Biological Invasions from Genes to Ecosystems, from Science to Society," with Kevin Rice, Holly Doremus,

Susan Ustin Susan Ustin is an American earth scientist who is the Distinguished Professor of Environmental Resource Science at the John Muir Institute for the Environment, University of California, Davis. Her research makes use of remote sensing technology ...

, and Richard Grosberg. She also co-created EVE 180, an undergraduate course in the Division of Biological Sciences which guided 20 juniors and seniors through a typical research experience, from hypothesis to results written for publication. Two years later, Strauss and doctoral student Richard Lankau co-published the ''Strauss-Lankau paper,'' which studied how genetic diversity and species diversity depended on each other for survival. They studied the evolution of

Brassica nigra ''Brassica nigra'', or black mustard, is an annual plant cultivated for its dark-brown-to-black seeds, which are commonly used as a spice. It is native to tropical regions of North Africa, temperate regions of Europe, and parts of Asia. Descrip ...

compared to black mustard and plants of other species to reach their conclusion. In 2009, Strauss was elected a fellow of the

California Academy of Sciences The California Academy of Sciences is a research institute and natural history museum in San Francisco, California, that is among the largest museums of natural history in the world, housing over 46 million specimens. The Academy began in 18 ...

. In 2011, Strauss received a 14-day grant from National Geographic to study wildlife in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

for her project ''Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide: Plant camouflage as an adaptation to enemies.'' Two years later, she was awarded UC Davis' Distinguished Teaching Awards for Graduate Professional during the 2013 Academic Senate and Academic Federation reception. While serving as chair of the Department of Evolution and Ecology, Strauss was elected a Fellow of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) 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, ...

for "her work in population biology, particularly for contributions in evolutionary history and its interactions with ecology, species evolution as a consequence of community membership, and application of research to solve environmental problems." Her efforts in the department of Evolution and Ecology were recognized by UC Davis with the 2017 Distinguished Mentoring Award. She was elected to the US National Academy of Sciences in 2022.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Strauss, Sharon Y. 1956 births Living people Scientists from New York City Harvard University alumni Florida State University alumni University of Minnesota College of Biological Sciences alumni University of California, Davis faculty Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences People associated with the California Academy of Sciences