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 Thomas J. Wilbanks Environmental Sciences Division Oak Ridge National Laboratory |
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Thomas J. Wilbanks
For research on fundamental issues involving society and technology; for contributions in economic geography, especially related to modernization processes in developing countries; and for advancements in energy and environmental policy analysis, including technology assessment and R&D policy. Dr. Wilbanks received his B.A. degree in social sciences from Trinity University in 1960 and his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in geography from Syracuse University in 1967 and 1969. He served on the faculties of Syracuse University and the University of Oklahoma before joining ORNL in 1977. Trained as a geographer, Dr. Wilbanks has focused his research on relationships between utilization of technology and social and economic development, both in the United States and in developing countries. Topics in his publications include attention to energy and environmental choices and impacts, decision-making and institution-building, and such cross-cutting issues for science as relationships between macroscale and microscale processes. He is the author or coauthor of six books and monographs, more than ninety journal articles and book chapters, and more than one hundred papers presented at universities and professional meetings in twelve countries. In 1986, Dr. Wilbanks was awarded Honors by the Association of American Geographers (AAG), geography's highest honor, and in 1985 he was elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). In 1993 he was named Distinguished Geography Educator of the year by the National Geographic Society for his contributions to the scientific content of national education standards for geography, and in 1995 he was awarded the James R. Anderson Medal of Honor in Applied Geography by the AAG. In January 1988 he spoke at a special symposium celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the National Geographic Society. From 1992 to 1993, he served as president of the Association of American Geographers, and during the period 1993 to 1997, he served as chair of both of geography's committees of the National Academy of Sciences/National Research Council (NAS/NRC), the U.S. National Committee for the International Geographical Union, and an NAS committee that produced Rediscovering Geography: New Relevance for Science and Society (1997), which assessed a scientific discipline from the standpoint of external needs and expectations. At ORNL, Dr. Wilbanks is manager of Global Change and Developing Country Programs. Current activities are focused on biodiversity protection and environmental institution-building in Guatemala, industrial ecology in India, and both national and international responses to global climate-change issues, including several leadership roles in the first U.S. National Assessment of Consequences of Climate Variability and Change. He also serves as adjunct professor of geography at the University of Tennessee and on a variety of national committees and panels. In previous years, his activities included assisting in the preparation of U.S. National Energy Plan II (1978–79) and the USAID Global Climate Change Initiative (1997–98). He was appointed a corporate fellow in 1986.
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Oak Ridge National Laboratory
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