AAAS Dialogue on Science, Ethics, and Religion

Biography

Peter Raven, Ph.D., has been the Director of the Missouri Botanical Garden and a Professor of Botany at Washington University since 1971. Prior to that he was a professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Stanford University. He was a member of Clinton's Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology, and served as President of the XVI International Botanical Congress in 1999, where he received the Engler medal for distinguished lifetime service to plant taxonomy. He also served for 12 years as Home Secretary of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. Currently he is President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Dr. Raven is the recipient of numerous environmental prizes and awards. His publications, both popular and scientific, include leading textbooks in botany and the environment. Dr. Raven completed his undergraduate work at the University of California at Berkeley in 1957 and received a Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1960.