Steward T. A. Pickett
- MIT Sponsors:
- Anne Whiston Spirn, Department of Urban Studies and Planning
- Scholar Link:Steward T.A. Pickett on the Cary Institute website
The trailblazers in human, academic, scientific and religious freedom have always been in the minority… It will take such a small committed minority to work unrelentingly to win the uncommitted majority. Such a group may transform America’s greatest dilemma into her most glorious opportunity.
Background
Steward Pickett is a plant ecologist and distinguished senior scientist at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies. He earned a PhD in botany at the University of Illinois and a BS with honors in botany at the University of Kentucky.
Interests
Pickett’s research relates to the role of spatial heterogeneity in community and landscape structure and dynamics. Specific projects include research on urban ecosystems, function of landscape boundaries, and plant community succession. He is an exemplary scholar and practitioner in the fields of landscape and urban ecology, continually striving to connect his work with broader questions of urban design and social science.
As an MLK visiting professor, Pickett participated in the activities of the MIT Faculty Environmental Network, the Department of Urban Studies and Planning’s MIT-USGS Science Impact Collaborative (MUSIC) program and Green Hub Initiative, and also did work with the Community Innovators Lab.
Sample Work
Research Project
Buell-Small Succession Study
Post-agricultural plant community succession is being studied in permanent plots in central New Jersey.
Research Project
Baltimore Ecosystem Study
The Cary Institute has taken a lead role in developing a program aimed at understanding urban ecosystems, one of Earth’s fastest growing environments.
Publication
The engaged university: providing a platform for research that transforms society
A. Whitmer, et al., “The engaged university: providing a platform for research that transforms society”, Front. Ecol. Environ., vol. 8, p. 314-321, 2010.
Publication
The Wild and the City
S. T. A. Pickett, “The Wild and the City”, in State of the Wild: A Global Portrait, 2010, p. 153-159.