Richard E. Lenski

Dr. Richard E. Lenski is the John Hannah Professor of Microbial Ecology at Michigan State University. His research examines the ecological and genetic forces that govern evolution. He is known for his long-term evolution experiment, started in 1988, which has used E. coli bacteria to observe evolution in 12 initially identical populations for more than 60,000 generations. The study has enabled Lenski to quantify the dynamics of phenotypic and genomic evolution, observe the emergence of new functions, and test the repeatability of evolution. In collaboration with colleagues, Lenski also studies digital organisms—computer programs that replicate, mutate, compete, and evolve in a virtual world.  By using these two different systems, he seeks commonalities that may indicate more general features of evolving systems. Lenski has received widespread recognition for his work including a National Science Foundation Young Investigator Award, a MacArthur Fellowship, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and the American Society of Naturalists Sewell Wright Award. In addition to his membership in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Lenski is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a fellow of both the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Academy of Microbiology. He is also a co-founder of the BEACON Center for the Study of Evolution in Action, a National Science Foundation Science and Technology Center whose mission is to illuminate and harness the power of evolution in action.