Biological Station director elected to prestigious group

Jim Elser, director of the Flathead Lake Biological Station and University of Montana Bierman Professor of Ecology, has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences in recognition of his achievements in scientific research.

Elser is best-known for his role in developing and testing the theory of ecological stoichiometry, the study of the balance of energy and chemical elements such as carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus in ecological systems.

As director of the biological station, Elser has expanded the station’s freshwater monitoring program, increased community outreach and launched the Flathead Lake Aquatic Research and Education K-12 program.

“It is very exciting to join the ranks of the National Academy, as it is the home of so many scientific heroes of the past and present,” Elser said in a press release. “I hope that membership in the NAS can help in elevating the importance of protecting precious water resources like Flathead Lake from potential threats from nutrient pollution, invasive species and climate change.”

The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit institution established under a congressional charter signed by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863. It recognizes achievement in science and provides science, engineering and health-policy advice to the federal government and other organizations. Elser was elected to the academy by current members, and will join them as they advise the nation on matters relating to science, engineering and medicine.

“I have collaborated with so many amazing scientists during my career, including some amazing graduate students and post-docs,” Elser said. “This recognition is really a reflection of my good luck in having such wonderful students and collaborators.”

His current research is focused on Flathead Lake, as well as mountain lakes of western Montana and western China. Elser also works to advance the cause of phosphorus sustainability in the food system to protect water quality.

Elser has also been named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, is an elected foreign member of the Norwegian Academy of Arts and Sciences and has received the G.E. Hutchinson Award of the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography, the world’s largest scientific association dedicated to aquatic sciences. He served as the association president from 2014 to 2016.

Elser is the second active member of the National Academy of Sciences in the state of Montana.

For more information about Elser’s research and career, visit the Flathead Lake Biological Station website at http://flbs.umt.edu.