What organization did Thomas Eisner join in 1994?
Thomas Eisner Thomas Eisner ( June 25 , 1929 – March 25 , 2011 ) was a German-American entomologist and ecologist , known as the father of chemical ecology . He was a Jacob Gould Schurman Professor of Chemical Ecology at Cornell University , and Director of the Cornell Institute for Research in Chemical Ecology ( CIRCE ) . He was a world authority on animal behavior , ecology , and evolution , and , together with his Cornell colleague Jerrold Meinwald , was one of the pioneers of chemical ecology , the discipline dealing with the chemical interactions of organisms . He was author or co-author of some 400 scientific articles and seven books . Personal life . Thomas Eisner was born on June 25 , 1929 , in Berlin , Germany . His father , Hans Eisner , was a chemist of Jewish origin , and a coworker of Fritz Haber at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Electrochemistry in Berlin ; he later held a chair for chemistry at Cornell . His mother , Margarete Heil-Eisner , was an artist . Escaping the Nazi regime , the family moved to Barcelona and , following the Spanish Civil War , to Uruguay . The Eisners came to the U.S . in 1947 . Thomas Eisner became a naturalized American citizen , and applied to Cornell University as an undergraduate , but was rejected . He received his B.S . and PhD degrees from Harvard University , and joined Cornells entomology faculty in 1957 . He married Maria Eisner , who was a member of his lab . In 1964 , he helped found the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior , where he worked until his death . In addition to his academic work , he was a passionate nature photographer and videographer . His film Secret Weapons won the Grand Award at the New York Film Festival and was named Best Science Film by the British Association for the Advancement of Science . He was also an avid pianist and occasional conductor . Eisner died on March 25 , 2011 , of Parkinsons disease . He was an atheist . Work . Eisners main body of work was in chemical ecology , primarily studying the chemical defenses of insects against predation . Some of his most famous work was conducted on the bombardier beetle , which he discovered creates a chemical reaction within its body to shoot a boiling noxious liquid from a nozzle in its abdomen . A field biologist with working experience on four continents , he was also an active conservationist . He served on the Board of Directors of the National Audubon Society , the National Scientific Council of the Nature Conservancy , and the World Resources Institute Council . He was a past president of the American Society of Naturalists , and chairman of the Biology Section of the American Association for the Advancement of Science . He played a key role in initiating the Congressional Fellow Program in Washington DC , and in efforts to preserve wilderness areas in Florida and Texas . Eisner was furthermore a member of the National Academy of Sciences , the American Academy of Arts and Sciences , and the American Philosophical Society . He received numerous honors , including the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement , the Harvard Centennial Medal , the 1994 National Medal of Science and the Lewis Thomas Prize for Writing about Science . He also held honorary degrees from universities in Sweden , Germany , Switzerland and the United States , and was a foreign fellow of the Royal Society . Eisner was additionally a member of the Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina and Academia Europaea . In 2008 , Eisner was awarded the John J . Carty Award by the National Academy of Sciences . Publications . - Eisner , T , ( 2003 ) For Love of Insects . Harvard University Press . ; - Eisner , T , Eisner , M , & Siegler , M , ( 2005 ) Secret Weapons : Defenses of Insects , Spiders , Scorpions , and Other Many-Legged Creatures . Harvard University Press . - Eisner , T , Bert Hölldobler & Martin Lindauer : Chemische Ökologie , Territorialität , gegenseitige Verständigung . Fischer , Stuttgart/New York 1986 , . External links . - Thomas Eisners Cornell Homepage - Thomas Eisner tells his life story at Web of Stories ( video )