Michael Pollan Named 2012 Recipient of the NABT Distinguished Service Award

February 28, 2017 | by

National Association Of Biology Teachers Honors Award

Winning Author for His Contributions to Biology Education

Michael Pollan Named 2012 Recipient of The Distinguished Service Award

McLean, VA - The National Association of Biology Teachers (NABT) is proud to announce that Mr. Michael Pollan, teacher, best selling author and award winning journalist, has been named the recipient of this year’s Distinguished Service Award for Enhancing Education through Biological Research. This award will be presented at 2012 NABT Professional Development Conference in Dallas, TX during the Biology Educator Leadership Scholarship (BELS) Benefit Dinner. Mr. Pollan will also be a featured guest at this event, where he will be interacting with the audience in a moderated interview and Q&A type session.

“Michael Pollan is incredibly talented at helping people connect culture and biology through popular scientific literature that appeals and informs readers at all life-stages," said Donald P. French, President of NABT. "His books, presentations, teaching and related media productions inspire, inform, and encourage the public to pursue a greater understanding of their connection to the natural world, and the importance of nature, biology and biology education in their own lives and their children’s future. I am very proud of this opportunity for NABT to honor Mr. Pollan with our Distinguished Service Award."

The NABT Distinguished Service Award was established in 1988 to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the association. The purpose of the award is to recognize individuals for the significant contribution that their work has made to the field of biology education. Notable winners of the award include Lynn Margulis, James Watson, Stephen Jay Gould, Francis Collins, E.O. Wilson, Sean Carroll, Ken Miller, Richard Dawkins, and Neil Shubin.

"If America is ever going to repair its relations with the natural world, it will be because biology teachers have prepared the ground of understanding in our young people. The thought that they might find some of my work useful in their work is both humbling and thrilling. I can't imagine a more meaningful honor.” said Michael Pollan.

For the past twenty-five years, Michael Pollan has been writing award winning books and articles about the places where nature and culture intersect: on our plates, in our farms and gardens, and in the built environment. He is the author of four New York Times bestsellers: Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual (2010); In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto (2008); The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals (2006) and The Botany of Desire: A Plant’s-Eye View of the World (2001). The Omnivore’s Dilemma was named one of the ten best books of 2006 by both the New York Times and the Washington Post. It also won the California Book Award, the Northern California Book Award, the James Beard Award, and was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. The Botany of Desire received the Borders Original Voices Award for the best non-fiction work of 2001, and was recognized as a best book of the year by the American Booksellers Association and Amazon.com. Pollan is also the author of A Place of My Own (1997) and Second Nature (1991).

Pollan was named to the 2010 TIME 100, the magazine’s annual list of the world’s 100 most influential people. In 2009 he was named by Newsweek as one of the top 10 “New Thought Leaders.” A contributing writer to The New York Times Magazine since 1987, his writing has received numerous awards: he was a finalist for the National Magazine Award in 2009 for best essay; he received the James Beard Award for best magazine series in 2003; the John Burroughs prize in 1997 for best natural history essay; the QPB New Vision Award for his first book, Second Nature; the 2000 Reuters-I.U.C.N. Global Award for Environmental Journalism for his reporting on genetically modified crops; the 2003 Humane Society of the United States’ Genesis Award for his writing on animal agriculture; the 2008 Truth in Agricultural Journalism Award from the American Corngrowers Association; the 2009 President’s Citation Award from the American Institute of Biological Sciences, and the 2009 Voices of Nature Award from the Natural Resources Defense Council. In 2009, he appeared in a two-hour PBS special based on The Botany of Desire as well as in the documentary, Food Inc., which received an Academy Award nomination.

In 2003, Pollan was appointed the John S. and James L. Knight Professor of Journalism at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism, and the director of the Knight Program in Science and Environmental Journalism. In addition to teaching, he lectures widely on food, agriculture, health and the environment.

About NABT: Since being established in 1938, the National Association of Biology Teachers (NABT) has been the recognized "leader in life science education." Thousands of educators have joined NABT to share experiences and expertise with colleagues from around the globe; keep up with trends and developments in the field; and grow professionally.

Contact for Additional Information: Jaclyn Reeves-Pepin for NABT, jreevespepin@nabt.org / (888) 501-6228 x 102