Member

Scott received his bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and he received his PhD degree in biology from Harvard University. Scott worked at museums in California as a research associate in entomology after receiving his bachelor’s degree, including the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (1977-80) and the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History (1975-78). From 1986 to 1997, Scott worked in Hawaii at the University of Hawaii and at the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum. While at the museum, he was chair of the department of entomology from 1987 to 1993 and chair of the department of natural science from 1993 to 1997. He moved to Washington, D.C., and became supervisory research entomologist at the Natural Museum of Natural History from 1998 to 2000, during which time he was on leave as a principal scientist and program leader to the to the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology in Nairobi. Scott is committed to applying biodiversity information from research and collections institutions to conservation and sustainable development. He has participated in major reviews of biodiversity related to conservation planning, and catalyzed an Integrated Conservation Development Project in Kenya. A core focus in his work is catalyzing partnerships for both research and outreach. He is currently chair of the Consortium for the Barcode of Life, and principal investigator of the Sloan Foundation grant that funds the secretariat. He also has helped catalyze digital library initiatives in biodiversity. He is active in national and international biodiversity and conservation organizations (e.g., Convention on Biological Diversity, Global Biodiversity Information Facility, Global Invasive Species Program). Scott has had continuous National Science Foundation research funding since 1986, and maintains an active personal research program. He has published over 140 research publications in systematics, biogeography, and ecology, and co-edited the books Papua New Guinea Biological Diversity Country Study, The origin and evolution of Pacific island biotas, New Guinea to Eastern Polynesia: Patterns and processes, and Arthropods of tropical forests: Spatio-temporal dynamics and resource use in the canopy. Scott presently is senior program officer in the Office of the Under Secretary for Science of the Smithsonian Institution, and curator of entomology at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. Scott was elected member of the Washington Biologists’ Field Club in 2001 and has served on the board of managers.