Olivia Judson
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Olivia Judson (born 1970) is an evolutionary biologist at Imperial College London and science writer.
Contents |
[edit] Career
Judson, who is the daughter of science historian Horace Freeland Judson, was a pupil of W.D. Hamilton.[1] She graduated from Stanford University, gained a doctorate from Oxford, and worked for some time as a journalist before becoming a research fellow at Imperial College London.
Beginning in 1995 she worked for two years as a science writer for The Economist. In 1997, she wrote an Economist article named "Sex Is War!" which was awarded the Glaxo Wellcome Prize by the British Science Writers Association.[1]
Her first book, Dr Tatiana's Sex Advice to All Creation (2002), grew out of that article. Written in the style of a sex-advice column to animals, the book details the variety of sexual practices in the natural world and provides the reader with an overview of the evolutionary biology of sex. The book was praised by critics as being witty and engaging, without compromising its scientific integrity. It became an international best-seller and was nominated for the Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction in 2003.[1]
Judson has also worked as a television presenter. In 2004 she played Dr Tatiana in an adaptation of her book; the series was produced by Wag TV and EPI Productions for Channel 4 and Discovery Canada. In 2007 she co-presented Animal Pharm with Giles Coren; the series, which explored genetic modification and pharming, was produced by Lion Television for Channel 4.
In January 2008, Judson began writing a weekly blog on evolutionary biology, titled "The Wild Side", for The New York Times website. For the first half of 2009, guest bloggers filled in for Judson while she worked on a new book, Dinosaur Eggs for Breakfast.
Judson has supported a possible future campaign to completely wipe out malaria mosquitoes.[2]
[edit] Works
- Dr Tatiana's Sex Advice to All Creation: The Definitive Guide to the Evolutionary Biology of Sex (2002), Henry Holt, ISBN 0-8050-6331-5
- Dinosaur Eggs for Breakfast, forthcoming, John Murray, ISBN 0719521807
[edit] References
- ^ a b c "Dr Olivia Judson's animal magic". Reporter ("The Newspaper of Imperial College, London"). 11 July 2003. http://www.imperial.ac.uk/college.asp?P=4311.
- ^ Olivia Judson (September 9, 2008). "A Genetically Engineered Swat". The Wild Side blog at NYTimes.com. http://judson.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/09/a-genetically-engineered-swat/.
[edit] External links
- The Wild Side Judson's New York Times blog on Evolutionary Biology
- Website for "Dr Tatiana" book and 2005 TV show]
- Review of Dr. Tatiana's Sex Advice to All Creation from The Daily Telegraph
- Judson's page in Current Biography Illustrated
- Dr Tatiana's Sex Advice to All Creation at the Internet Movie Database
 |
This article about a geneticist or evolutionary biologist is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 |
This article about a British scientist is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
