Jianguo Wu

Jianguo "Jingle" Wu (邬建国) is a Dean's Distinguished Professor of Sustainability Science at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona. He is also known internationally for his research in landscape ecology and urban ecology. His areas of expertise include landscape ecology, biodiversity, sustainability science, ecosystem functioning and urban ecology. He is the author of over 300 publications, 14 books and has translated 1 book from English to Chinese. He has been awarded multiple awards and honors, including being elected as a Fellow for the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in 2007 and an Ecological Society of America fellow in 2019.

Education Jianguo Wu was born in 1957. He received his B.S. in biology in 1981 from Inner Mongolia University. He then went on to study ecology at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, where he earned his M.S. in 1987. From there, Wu earned his PhD in ecology in 1991 from the same university. For his PhD, he wrote his thesis "Dynamics of landscape islands: A systems simulation modeling approach" under his dissertation director, John L. Vankat. During this time, he also worked with Orie L. Loucks, who is described as being a role model to him.

After completing his PhD, Jianguo Wu was a National Science Foundation postdoctoral fellow at Cornell University and Princeton University from 1991 to 1993. During his postdoc, he worked in the Levin Lab and was mentored by Simon A. Levin. Jianguo Wu argues that more research needs to focus on regional analysis as it is the missing link between narrow, local studies and global studies that could help us institute broad changes in the world we live in. His areas of expertise include landscape ecology, biodiversity, sustainability science, ecosystem functioning and urban ecology. Jianguo Wu is also a guest professor at various Chinese institutions, including the Institute of Botany at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Inner Mongolia University, and Beijing Normal University. In 2001, Wu served as the program chair for the US chapter of the International Association for Landscape Ecology, now known as the North American Regional Association of the International Association for Landscape Ecology (IALE – North America). Subsequently, from 2005 to 2006 Wu served on the Board of Scientific Counselors for Ecological Research for the Office of Research and Development, which is part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). From 2012 to the present, Wu has served as the founding director of the Center for Human-Environment System Sustainability (CHESS) at Beijing Normal University. Jianguo Wu also serves on the editorial board for the international journal Acta Ecologica Sinca an associate advisor. This journal is a monthly journal sponsored by the Ecological Society of China. This journal's purpose is to promote "the development of and foster research talents for ecological studies in China, so as to contribute to the knowledge innovation, sustainable development and the revitalization of the nation through science and education."

At Arizona State University, Jianguo Wu also serves as an advisor to Arizona State University President's Office on China affairs. 2009: Jianguo Wu was named a Leopold Leadership Fellow under the Leopold Leadership Program, run by the Woods Institute for the Environment at Stanford University. This program has since been renamed the Earth Leadership Program. 2010: Wu was chosen to receive the Distinguished Landscape Ecologist Award from the North American Regional Association of the International Association for Landscape Ecology (IALE – North America). According to the IALE, "the intent of this award is to specifically recognize those unique individuals whose thinking and writing have helped to shape the field of landscape ecology. This award highlights those scholars whose scientific endeavors pervade our discipline and its continuing development. This award is ordinarily given for outstanding scientific achievement over a period of a decade or more, and it is the most prestigious honor bestowed by our Chapter." According to the ESA, Wu was elected for "outstanding contributions to landscape ecology, urban ecology, and sustainability science, particularly in the areas of hierarchical patch dynamics, spatial scaling, habitat fragmentation and biodiversity, ecological impacts of urbanization, and landscape sustainability." To receive this award, researchers must rank within the top 1% of their field for number of citations in the last decade. According to the Web of Science, this award is given to "the true pioneers in their fields over the last decade, demonstrated by the production of multiple highly-cited papers that rank in the top 1% by citations for field and year in the Web of Science™.

As a NSF postdoctoral fellow, Wu received a National Science Foundation grant to fund his postdoctoral research under the mentorship of Simon A. Levin in 1991. Since, then, Wu has received at least four National Science Foundation grants as both principal investigator and co-principal investigator to study biodiversity and urban ecology.

Publications

Articles Jianguo Wu has authored over 300 publications during his career. This remains one of Wu's most cited works. Today, he is considered to be a highly influential researcher in his field; in 2019 and 2020 he won Web of Science's Highly Influential Researcher Award in the fields of Environment and Ecology (2019) and Cross-Field (2020). This award is given to researchers who are in the top 1% of their field by number of citations in the last decade. Wu, Jianguo, et al. (2003). Three-Gorges Dam: Experiment in Habitat Fragmentation? Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science), 300(5623), 1239–1240. Wu, J. (2004). Effects of changing scale on landscape pattern analysis: scaling relations. Landscape Ecology, 19(2), 125–138. Effects of changing scale on landscape pattern analysis: scaling relations Wu, J. (2013). Landscape sustainability science: ecosystem services and human well-being in changing landscapes. Landscape Ecology, 28(6), 999–1023. Landscape sustainability science: ecosystem services and human well-being in changing landscapes Wu, J. (2014). Urban ecology and sustainability: The state-of-the-science and future directions. Landscape and Urban Planning, 125, 209–221. Urban ecology and sustainability: The state-of-the-science and future directions Bai, Yongfei, Han, Xingguo, Wu, Jianguo, Chen, Zuozhong, & Li, Linghao. (2004). Ecosystem stability and compensatory effects in the Inner Mongolia grassland. Nature (London), 431(7005), 181–184. Ecosystem stability and compensatory effects in the Inner Mongolia grassland Grimm, N. B, Faeth, S. H, Golubiewski, N. E, Redman, C. L, Wu, J, Bai, X, & Briggs, J. M. (2008). Global Change and the Ecology of Cities. Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science), 319(5864), 756–760. Global Change and the Ecology of Cities Forman, Richard T. T, & Wu, Jianguo. (2016). Where to put the next billion people. Nature (London), 537(7622), 608–611. Where to put the next billion people

Books Jianguo Wu has authored 14 books in both Chinese and English on the topics of ecology and landscape ecology.

Y. Gao and J. Wu (eds). 2017. Lectures in Modern Ecology (VIII): Advances in Community, Ecosystem and Landscape Ecology. Higher Education Press, Beijing. Barrett, G.W., T.L. Barrett, and J.G. Wu (eds). 2015. History of Landscape Ecology in the United States. Springer, New York. Wu, J.G. and S.Q. An (eds). 2013. Lectures in Modern Ecology (VI): Global Climate Change and Ecological Patterns and Processes. Higher Education Press, Beijing. Hong, S.K., J. Wu, J.E. Kim, and N. Nakagoshi (eds). 2011. Landscape Ecology in Asian Cultures. Springer, Dordrecht, The Netherlands. 334 pp. Wu, J. G. and F.M. Li (eds). 2011. Lectures in Modern Ecology (V): Large-Scale Ecology and Sustainability Science. Higher Education Press, Beijing. 381 pp. Wu, J. and J. Yang (eds). 2009. Lectures in Modern Ecology (IV): Theory and Applications. Higher Education Press, Beijing. 392 pp. Carriero, M., Y. Song, and J. Wu (eds). 2008. Ecology, Planning, and Management of Urban Forests: International Perspectives. Springer, New York. 467 pp. Gu, B., J. Wu, J. Chen, and Y. Wu (eds). 2008. Green Careers. Higher Education Press, Beijing. Wu, J. and R. Hobbs (eds). 2007. Key Topics in Landscape Ecology. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. 297 pp. Wu, J. 2007. Landscape Ecology: Pattern, Process, Scale and Hierarchy. 2nd Edition. Higher Education Press, Beijing. 266 pp. Wu, J., J. Ge, X. Han, Z. Yu, and D. Zhang (eds). 2007. Lectures in Modern Ecology (III): Advances and Key Topics. Higher Education Press, Beijing. 383 pp. Wu, J., B. Jones, H. Li, and O. L. Loucks (Eds). 2006. Scaling and Uncertainty Analysis in Ecology. Springer, Dordrecht, The Netherlands. 351 pp. Wu, J., X. Han, and J. Huang (eds). 2002. Lectures in Modern Ecology (II): From Basic Science to Environmental Issues. Science and Technology Press, Beijing. 229 pp. Wu, J. 2000. Landscape Ecology: Pattern, Process, Scale and Hierarchy. 1st Edition. Higher Education Press, Beijing.

In addition, Wu has translated one book to Chinese from English. Forman, R.T.T. 2014. Urban Ecology: Science of Cities. Cambridge University Press. [Chinese edition translated by J. Wu et al. 2017, Higher Education Press, Beijing.