Ecology: The Economy of Nature

Rick Relyea is the David Darrin Senior ‘40 Endowed Chair in Biological Sciences and the director of the Darrin Freshwater Institute at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He received a BS in environmental forest biology from the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, an MS in wildlife management from Texas Tech University, and a PhD in ecology and evolution from the University of Michigan. He has authored more than 200 scientific articles and book chapters and presented research seminars throughout the world. Rick was a professor at the University of Pittsburgh for 15 years, where he was named the Chancellor’s Distinguished Researcher and received the Tina and David Bellet Teaching Excellence Award. In 2014, he moved to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to direct The Jefferson Project, which is the most technologically advanced research endeavor to study freshwater lakes. Rick has a strong interest in high school education, including hosting high school science teachers who conduct research in his laboratory. He is co-author of Environmental Science for the AP® Course, also published by BFW publishers.