Ben Sheldon facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ben Sheldon
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| Alma mater | |
| Awards | Scientific Medal of the Zoological Society of London (2004)
Linnean Medal (2020) Academia Europaea (2020) Fellow of the Royal Society (2022) |
| Website | https://www.zoo.ox.ac.uk/people/professor-ben-sheldon  |
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Ben C. Sheldon is a leading scientist who studies birds. He holds a special position called the Luc Hoffmann Chair in Field Ornithology. He is also the Director of the Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology. This institute is part of the University of Oxford's Department of Zoology. From 2016 to 2021, he was in charge of the entire Department of Zoology.
His research helps us understand why individual animals, especially birds, are different from each other. He looks at how these differences affect their lives in the wild.
For his important work, he received the Linnean Medal in 2020. In 2022, he was also chosen as a Fellow of the Royal Society. This is a very high honor for scientists.
Learning and Working
Ben Sheldon studied Natural Sciences at the University of Cambridge. He learned a lot from lectures on Behavioural Ecology. This is the study of how animals behave in their natural environments. He then earned his PhD in Zoology from the University of Sheffield. His supervisor was Professor Tim Birkhead.
After his PhD, he worked as a researcher at the University of Uppsala and the University of Edinburgh. In 2000, he moved to the University of Oxford. There, he received a special Royal Society University Research Fellowship.
In 2002, Ben Sheldon became the Head of the Edward Grey Institute. In 2004, he was the first person to hold the Luc Hoffmann Chair in Field Ornithology. He also helped lead the Department of Zoology. He was an Associate Head from 2011 to 2016. Then, he became the Head of the Department from 2016 to 2021.
Awards and Special Recognitions
Ben Sheldon has received many awards for his important scientific work. Here are some of them:
- 1997: Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour Outstanding New Researcher Award
- 2000: Royal Society University Research Fellow
- 2004: Scientific Medal of the Zoological Society of London
- 2013: Royal Society Wolfson Merit Award
- 2018: Distinguished Naturalist Award from the American Society of Naturalists
- 2020: Linnean Medal
- 2020: Elected to the Academia Europaea (a group of top European scientists)
- 2022: Fellow of the Royal Society (a very old and respected scientific academy)
