Spencer Charles Hilton Barrett (born June 7, 1948) is a Canadian evolutionary biologist, formerly a

Canada Research Chair Canada Research Chair (CRC) is a title given to certain Canadian university research professors by the Canada Research Chairs Program. Program goals The Canada Research Chair program was established in 2000 as a part of the Government of Canada ...

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

and, in 2010, was named Extraordinary Professor at University of Stellenbosch. He is currently University Professor Emeritus at the University of Toronto.

Education

Barrett was educated at the

University of Reading The University of Reading is a public research university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as the University Extension College, Reading, an extension college of Christchurch College, Oxford, and became University College, ...

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 ...

, where he was awarded a

PhD 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 ...

in 1977Spencer Barrett's for research into the breeding systems of the plants '' Eichhornia'' and '' Pontederia.'' He was supervised by

Herbert Baker Sir Herbert Baker (9 June 1862 – 4 February 1946) was an English architect remembered as the dominant force in South African architecture for two decades, and a major designer of some of New Delhi's most notable government structures. He was ...

Research and career

Barrett's interests are in

evolutionary biology Evolutionary biology is the subfield of biology that studies the evolutionary processes such as natural selection, common descent, and speciation that produced the diversity of life on Earth. In the 1930s, the discipline of evolutionary biolo ...

evolutionary genetics Population genetics is a subfield of genetics that deals with genetic differences within and among populations, and is a part of evolutionary biology. Studies in this branch of biology examine such phenomena as adaptation, speciation, and popu ...

evolutionary ecology Evolutionary ecology lies at the intersection of ecology and evolutionary biology. It approaches the study of ecology in a way that explicitly considers the evolutionary histories of species and the interactions between them. Conversely, it can ...

and

plant reproduction Plants may reproduce sexually or asexually. Sexual reproduction produces offspring by the fusion of gametes, resulting in offspring genetically different from either parent. Vegetative reproduction produces new individuals without the fusion o ...

. His research seeks understanding of how flowers evolve and what mechanisms are responsible for

mating system A mating system is a way in which a group is structured in relation to sexual behaviour. The precise meaning depends upon the context. With respect to animals, the term describes which males and females mating, mate under which circumstances. Reco ...

transitions in

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

s. Since 2017, he has served as

Editor-in-Chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held accoun ...

of the '' Proceedings of the Royal Society'' series B, the flagship

scientific journal In academic publishing, a scientific journal is a periodical publication designed to further the progress of science by disseminating new research findings to the scientific community. These journals serve as a platform for researchers, schola ...

in the biological sciences of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

. Barrett is an evolutionary biologist and a worldwide authority on the ecology and genetics of plant reproduction. His work has focused on increasing understanding of how flowers evolve and the mechanisms responsible for mating system transitions in flowering plants. Barrett provided the first experimental evidence for the purging of deleterious genes following inbreeding in plants. He also demonstrated that self-fertilization owing to large floral displays in plants can have a detrimental effect on the male fertility of plants. Barrett’s research group at the University of Toronto focuses on understanding the mechanisms responsible for the evolution of plant mating strategies, and he has edited several leading books in the field.

Awards and honours

Barrett was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 1998 and a

Fellow of the Royal Society of London Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathematic ...

in 2004. He is a founding member of the Canadian Society for Ecology and Evolution and its President from 2010 to 2011. In 2006 the Canadian Botanical Association awarded him the George Lawson Medal for lifetime achievement in botany. In 2008 he received the Sewall Wright Award from the

American Society of Naturalists The American Society of Naturalists (ASN) was founded in 1883 and is one of the oldest professional societies dedicated to the biological sciences in North America. The purpose of the Society is "to advance and diffuse knowledge of organic evoluti ...

. In 2014, he received the Flavelle Medal from the Royal Society of Canada. In 2020 the

Linnean Society of London The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript a ...

award him the Darwin–Wallace Medal. In 2009 he was elected as a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In April 2020 Spencer Barrett was elected an International Member (Foreign Associate) 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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barrett, Spencer 1948 births Living people UC Berkeley College of Letters and Science alumni Academic staff of the University of Toronto Canadian ecologists Canadian fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences Alumni of the University of Reading