Alma mater University of Chicago Books Inferring phylogenies | Role Professor Name Joseph Felsenstein Siblings Lee Felsenstein | |
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Institutions University of Washington Thesis Statistical Inference and the Estimation Phylogenies (1968) Doctoral students Jeffrey Thorne
Bruce Walsh
Chul Joo Kang Known for PHYLIP
Felsenstein's tree-pruning algorithm Notable awards Sewall Wright Award (1993)
Darwin–Wallace Medal (2008)
John J. Carty award (2009)
International Prize for Biology (2013) Education University of Chicago, University of Wisconsin-Madison Awards International Prize for Biology, Darwin–Wallace Medal, John J. Carty Award for the Advancement of Science Fields Systematics, Phylogenetics, Population genetics | ||
Doctoral advisor Richard Lewontin | ||
How can phylogenies illuminate morphological evolution? (Joseph Felsenstein)
Joseph "Joe" Felsenstein (born May 9, 1942) is Professor in the Departments of Genome Sciences and Biology and Adjunct Professor in the Departments of Computer Science and Statistics at the University of Washington in Seattle. He is best known for his work on phylogenetic inference, and is the author of Inferring Phylogenies, and principal author and distributor of the package of phylogenetic inference programs called PHYLIP. Closely related to his work on phylogenetic inference is his introduction of methods for making statistically independent comparisons using phylogenies.
Contents
- How can phylogenies illuminate morphological evolution Joseph Felsenstein
- Education
- Research
- Awards
- Personal life
- References
Education
Felsenstein did his undergraduate work at the University of Wisconsin–Madison where he did undergraduate research under James F. Crow. He then did doctoral work under Richard Lewontin in the 1960s, when he was at the University of Chicago, and did a postdoc at the Institute of Animal Genetics in Edinburgh prior to becoming faculty at the University of Washington.
Research
In addition to his work in phylogenetics, Felsenstein is also noted for his work in theoretical population genetics, including studies on selection, migration, linkage, speciation, and the coalescent.
Awards
Felsenstein is a member of the National Academy of Sciences. He was awarded the Darwin-Wallace Medal by the Linnean Society of London in 2008. In 2009 he was awarded the John J. Carty Award from the National Academy of Sciences. In 2013 he was awarded the International Prize for Biology by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science .
The moth species Ufeus felsensteini was named in his honor.
Personal life
Felsenstein is the older brother of early personal computer designer Lee Felsenstein. He was a red diaper baby (child of CPUSA members) and was named after Joseph Stalin.
An interview covering aspects of his academic career is part of the Distinguished Faculty Interview Series of the Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington.