John Harte (scientist)

John Harte (born July 8, 1939) is an ecologist and Professor of the Graduate School in the Energy and Resources Group at the University of California at Berkeley and an elected Fellow of the American Physical Society. His work includes investigation into a maximum entropy theory of ecology and long-term experiments on the effects of climate change on alpine ecology.

Academic career

Harte received his B.A. from Harvard University in 1961 and his Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Wisconsin in 1965. He was an Assistant Professor of Physics at Yale University from 1968-1973. During his time at Yale, he transitioned into the study of theoretical ecology, and joined the UC Berkeley faculty as an ecologist in the Energy and Resources Group in 1973.

Honors and awards

He received the Guggenheim Fellowship in 1993 and the Leo Szilard prize from the American Physical Society in 2001.

Selected publications

• Harte, John. 1988. Consider a Spherical Cow Univ Science Books. ISBN 978-0-935702-58-3
• Harte, John. 2011. Maximum Entropy and Ecology: A Theory of Abundance, Distribution, and Energetics. Oxford Series in Ecology and Evolution. ISBN 978-0199593422
• Harte, John. 1996. The Green Fuse: An Ecological Odyssey. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0520205512
• Harte, John. 1991. Toxics A to Z: A Guide to Everyday Pollution Hazards. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0520072244

See also

• Entropy and life
• List of Guggenheim Fellowships awarded in 1993