 Eugene Odum research files: Eniwetok Atoll, old-field plant specimens, and Southern Nuclear Task Force
Collection DescriptionHistorical NoteEugene Odum (1913-2002) was an influential University of Georgia instructor from 1940 until his retirement in 1984. He is considered to be the "Father of Modern Ecology" and was the author of the pioneering book Fundamentals of Ecology. Odum was instrumental in the creation of the Institute of Ecology at the University of Georgia, the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory near Aiken, S.C., and the Sapelo Island Marine Science Institute. Scope and ContentMost of this collection consists of materials related to the important 1954 expedition to Eniwetok Atoll taken by Dr. Eugene Odum and his brother, Dr. Howard Odum. Dr. Odum's biographer, Dr. Betty Jean Craige, wrote about the expedition in "A Tribute to Eugene P. Odum" in the University of Georgia's Research Magazine in the summer of 2002: "Because he himself had focused primarily on the biological sciences, Gene appreciated opportunities to collaborate with his younger brother Howard Thomas Odum, who had studied the physical sciences. After spending the summer of 1954 doing research together on the coral reefs of the Eniwetok Atoll, the young ecologists showed in an award-winning paper that symbiosis maintained an equilibrium between corals and algae. Gene came to believe that symbiosis worked similarly in social systems: that interdependence leads to cooperation and hence to social stability. ...The paper, "Trophic Structure and Productivity of a Windward Coral Reef Community on Eniwetok Atoll," published in Ecological Monographs in 1955, won the Mercer Award from the Ecological Society of America in 1956." Other research-related materials are included in the collection, including a set of plant specimens collected in Clarke County in relation to the class Ecology 353. Administrative InformationCustodial HistoryOriginally these materials were located in UGA 97-047, a collection of books and journals that belonged to Dr. Odum. They have been extracted to make them more accessible to researchers. Preferred CitationEugene Odum Research Files: Eniwetok Atoll, Old-Field Plant Specimens, Southern Nuclear Task Force, etc., 1950-1970. University Archives, UA06-032.001, Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, The University of Georgia Libraries. General NotesRG4-5 (Institute of Ecology) Related Materials and SubjectsSubject TermsRelated Collections in this RepositoryRelated materials available in the following collections of this repository: Eugene Odum Collection, Correspondence 1945 - 1982; Eugene Odum Papers-Institute of Ecology, 1937-1990; Eugene Odum administrative papers, Institute of Ecology, 1950-1980.; Odum, Eugene - reprints of his articles, 1935 - 1980 & articles by Savannah River Ecological Lab personnel; Georgia Room Vertical Folders filed under "Odum, Eugene P., Dr." | ||||||||||||||||||