Peter Morrison Vitousek is an American ecologist, particularly known for his work on the nitrogen cycle

Nitrogen cycle

The nitrogen cycle is the process by which nitrogen is converted between its various chemical forms. This transformation can be carried out by both biological and non-biological processes. Important processes in the nitrogen cycle include fixation, mineralization, nitrification, and denitrification...

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Born in Hawaii

Hawaii

Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...

, Vitousek graduated from Amherst College

Amherst College

Amherst College is a private liberal arts college located in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Amherst is an exclusively undergraduate four-year institution and enrolled 1,744 students in the fall of 2009...

 in 1971 and received his Ph.D. in biology from Dartmouth College

Dartmouth College

Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...

 in 1985. Since then, he has worked as an Assistant Professor of Zoology and Biology at Indiana University

Indiana University

Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...

 (1975-79), an Associate Professor of Botany and Biology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...

 (1980-83), and a Professor of Biological Sciences at Stanford University

Stanford University

The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...

 since 1984. He is married to fellow Stanford professor and ecologist Pamela Matson

Pamela Matson

Pamela Anne Matson is an American scientist, professor, and dean of the Stanford University School of Earth Sciences. She previously worked at NASA and at the University of California Berkeley. Her professional titles at Stanford are Chester Naramore Dean of the School of Earth Sciences, and...

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He was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences

United States National Academy of Sciences

The National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...

 in 1992. In 1993, he was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences

American Academy of Arts and Sciences

The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...

. Vitousek was awarded the 2006 NAS Award for Scientific Reviewing "for his scholarly and inspirational book and reviews on nitrogen cycling and its role in the evolving patterns of ecosystem productivity and diversity." In 2010, he was awarded the Japan Prize

Japan Prize

is awarded to people from all parts of the world whose "original and outstanding achievements in science and technology are recognized as having advanced the frontiers of knowledge and served the cause of peace and prosperity for mankind."- Explanation :...

Selected publications

• Peter M. Vitousek (1982) Nutrient Cycling and Nutrient Use Efficiency. Am Nat. 119, pp. 553.
• Peter M. Vitousek, Paul R. Ehrlich, Anne H. Ehrlich and Pamela A. Matson (1986) Human Appropriation of the Products of Photosynthesis. BioScience 36: 368-373
• Peter M. Vitousek & L.R. Walker (1989) Biological invasion by Myrica faya in Hawai'i: plant demography, nitrogen fixation, and ecosystem effects. Ecological Monographs 59: 247–265.
• Peter M. Vitousek & R W. Howarth (1991) Nitrogen limitation on land and in the sea: How can it occur? Biogeochemistry 13: 87-115
• Peter M. Vitousek, John D. Aber, Robert W. Howarth, Gene E. Likens, Pamela A. Matson, David W. Schindler, William H. Schlesinger, David G. Tilman (1997) Human alteration of the global nitrogen cycle: Sources and consequences. Ecological Applications: 7, 737-750.
• Peter M. Vitousek, Harold A. Mooney, Jane Lubchenco, Jerry M. Melillo. (1997) Human Domination of Earth's Ecosystems. Science 277: 494 – 499.
• Peter M. Vitousek (2004) Nutrient Cycling and Limitation: Hawai‘i as a Model System. Princeton University Press.
• Peter M. Vitousek, T.L. Ladefoged, P.V. Kirch, A.S. Hartshorn, M.W. Graves, S.C. Hotchkiss, S. Tuljapurkar, and O.A. Chadwick (2004) Agriculture, soils, and society in precontact Hawai’i. Science 304: 1665–1669
• Peter M. Vitousek, R. Naylor, T. Crews, M. B. David, L.E. Drinkwater, E. Holland, P. J. Johnes, J. Katzenberger, L. A. Martinelli, P. A. Matson, G. Nziguheba, D. Ojima, C. A. Palm, G. P. Robertson, P. A. Sanchez, A. R. Townsend, F. S. Zhang (2009) Nutrient Imbalances in Agricultural Development: Science 324: 1519-1520.