John Kress
Biography
W. John Kress is a botanist and Distinguished Scientist Emeritus at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History, where he served for over 30 years, including as interim Under Secretary for Science from 2014 to 2016. He received his education at Harvard University and Duke University, and his research focuses on tropical plant systematics, pollination ecology, and the co-evolution of plants and pollinators. He helped develop Leafsnap, an award-winning plant identification app, and has authored over 300 scientific papers and several books.
Sample Works
- Smithsonian Trees of North America (2024) Book
- Living in the Anthropocene: Earth in the Age of Humans (2017) Book
- The Ornaments of Life: Coevolution and Conservation in the Tropics (2013) Book
- The Art of Plant Evolution (2009) Book
Roundtable Appearances
April 27, 2019 · ▶ Video
Living in the Anthropocene
The roundtable explores conceptual questions about characterizing our planet's current era, examining distinctions between "human subjects and the non-human realm, between nature...
Akeel Bilgrami, Amitav Ghosh, Dale Jamieson, John Kress, Donald Moss, Nermeen Shaikh