David P. Mindell

David P. Mindell
Known forThe Evolving World: Evolution in Everyday Life
Awards1986 George S. Wise Post-doctoral Fellowship, Tel Aviv University, Israel

2006 Fellow of Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University
2007 Independent Publisher Gold Medal Award, for The Evolving World

2011 Fellow of the California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco
Academic background
EducationPrescott College
Brigham Young University
Academic work
DisciplineOrnithology, evolutionary biology
InstitutionsUniversity of California, Berkeley
Websitedavidpmindell.wordpress.com

David P. Mindell is an American evolutionary biologist and author. He is currently a senior researcher at the University of California, Berkeley, Museum of Vertebrate Zoology. Mindell's work is focused on the systematics, conservation and molecular evolution of birds, especially birds of prey. He is known for his 2006 book, The Evolving World in which he explained, for the general public, how evolution applies to everyday life.

From 1994 to 2008 Mindell was Professor of ecology and evolutionary biology and Curator of birds at the University of Michigan. He served as dean of science and Harry & Diana Hind Chair at the California Academy of Sciences between 2008 and 2011, and was Program Director in the Division of Environmental Biology at the US National Science Foundation during 2012 to 2016.[better source needed]

Biography

Mindell was born in Buffalo, New York, where he attended Nichols School. He received a B.S. degree from Prescott College in 1975, and a Ph.D. degree from Brigham Young University in 1986. He was a post-doctoral fellow at Harvard University between 1987 and 1989,[citation needed] after which he joined the University of Cincinnati as an assistant professor.

In 1994, Mindell joined the University of Michigan where he taught evolutionary biology and served as professor and curator of birds. In 1998, he was appointed as the director of Genomic Diversity Laboratory at the Museum of Zoology, and in 2003, he was appointed the director of Museum of Zoology.[citation needed] In 2006, he was awarded the Radcliffe Fellowship at Harvard University, where he conducted research on variable rates of evolutionary change across genes and organisms.

He was elected to serve as the president of Society of Systematic Biology in 2011.

Mindell has held many fellowships, including the George S. Wise post-doctoral fellowship at Tel Aviv University (1986),[failed verification] a fellowship with the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study (2006), and another with California Academy of Sciences (2011). In 2007, he received the Independent Publisher Gold Medal Award for The Evolving World.[independent source needed]

Research

Mindell's research focuses on evolutionary biology, and specifically the evolution and molecular systematics of birds. He has conducted comprehensive analyses of the systematics of diurnal birds of prey (hawks, eagles, falcons, vultures) in the orders Accipitriformes, Falconiformes and Cathartiformes. His work, funded by both U.S. National Science Foundation and The Peregrine Fund, includes assessment of the genetic distinctiveness and diversity of many poorly known groups of diurnal raptors, and resolution of taxonomic uncertainties.

Publications

Selected articles

Books

  • Mindell, David P., ed. (1997). Avian molecular evolution and systematics. San Diego: Academic Press. ISBN 978-0-12-498315-1.
  • Mindell, David P. (October 15, 2007). The Evolving World: Evolution in Everyday Life. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-02558-5. OCLC 165408267.
  • Scheiner, Samuel M.; Mindell, David P., eds. (2020). The theory of evolution: principles, concepts, and assumptions. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-67102-4.
  • Mindell, David P. (2024). The network of life: a new view of evolution. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-22877-8.

References

  1. ↑ "Researchers of the MVZ". Museum of Vertebrate Zoology. Retrieved November 8, 2026.
  2. ↑ Montgomery, William (December 2006). "The Evolving World: Evolution in Everyday Life". The Quarterly Review of Biology. 81 (4). The University of Chicago Press: 395–396. doi:10.1086/511558.
  3. ↑ Miller, Greg (September 19, 2008). "California Academy Practices What It Preaches About Sustainable Living". Science. 321 (5896): 1616–1617. doi:10.1126/science.321.5896.1616. PMID 18801972. S2CID 41375603.
  4. ↑ "Pepperdine University to Examine the 150th Anniversary of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species". Business Wire. November 16, 2009. Archived from the original on July 19, 2019. Retrieved November 8, 2026.
  5. ↑ "News | NSF - U.S. National Science Foundation". www.nsf.gov. November 2, 2026. Archived from the original on May 8, 2025. Retrieved March 16, 2025.
  6. ↑ "History". University of Cinncinnati. Archived from the original on January 13, 2025. Retrieved November 8, 2026.
  7. ↑ "David P. Mindell". Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University. Archived from the original on October 20, 2020. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
  8. ↑ "Table of Contents". Systematic Biology. 60 (5): NP. October 1, 2011. doi:10.1093/sysbio/syr083. ISSN 1063-5157.
  9. ↑ "Awards Annual Meeting" (PDF). Society for the History of Technology. 2019. p. 28. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 22, 2020. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
  10. ↑ "David P. Mindell". Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University. March 16, 2012. Archived from the original on October 20, 2020. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
  11. ↑ "California Academy of Sciences welcomes new fellows, bestows annual awards". EurekAlert!. October 8, 2009. Archived from the original on October 7, 2023. Retrieved November 8, 2026.
  12. ↑ The Evolving World — David P. Mindell. Harvard University Press. October 31, 2007. ISBN 9780674025585. Archived from the original on September 25, 2020. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
  13. ↑ The Peregrine Fund: World Center for Birds of Prey Annual Report 2006. The Peregrine Fund. Spring 2007.
  14. ↑ Omland, Kevin E. (1999). "Review of Avian Molecular Evolution and Systematics". Systematic Biology. 48 (1). [Oxford University Press, Society of Systematic Biologists]: 225–226. ISSN 1063-5157.
  15. ↑ Ruse, Michael (June 2009). "David P. Mindell. The Evolving World: Evolution in Everyday Life . viii + 341 pp., illus., tables, index. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2006. $16.95 (paper)". Isis. 100 (2): 385–385. doi:10.1086/605221. ISSN 0021-1753.
  16. ↑ Thompson, R. Paul (March 1, 2021). "The Theory of Evolution: Principles, Concepts, and Assumptions . By Samuel M. Scheiner and David P. Mindell. Chicago and New York: University of Chicago Press. $120.00 (hardcover); $45.00 (paper). xi + 442 p.; ill.; index. ISBN: 978-0-226-67102-4 (hc); 978-0-226-67116-1 (pb); 978-0-226-67133-8 (eb). 2020". The Quarterly Review of Biology. 96 (1): 51–51. doi:10.1086/713226. ISSN 0033-5770.
  17. ↑ Becerra, Arturo (June 1, 2025). ": The Network of Life: A New View of Evolution". The Quarterly Review of Biology. 100 (2): 136–137. doi:10.1086/735997. ISSN 0033-5770.