BSA President Brenda Molano-Flores presents the plaque to Steven Handel, who was recognized as the 2024 Distinguished Fellow of the Botanical Society of America.
Steven Handel, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Ecology and Evolution, was recognized as the 2024 “Distinguished Fellow of the Botanical Society of America (BSA),” on June 19 at the Botany Society conference held in Grand Rapids, MI. The highest honor bestowed by BSA, Distinguished Fellows are chosen based on their outstanding contributions to the mission of the scientific society and “have demonstrated excellence in basic research, education, public policy, or who have provided exceptional service to the professional botanical community.”
In awarding him the 2024 honor, BSA’s identified Handel as “leaving a lasting impact on the field of botany and ecological restoration. His work continues to inspire and educate, emphasizing the vital intersection of several disciplines. [His] actions to improve the botanical components of public landscapes has expanded the reach of our field in important new ways and we are pleased to honor him with this Distinguished Fellows Award.”
Handel responded with delight at receiving BSA’s highest award. “I am so grateful for this wonderful honor! I first became interested in plants when I was a child, in Rockaway Beach in New York City. I thought plants were just so lovely. Some kids played baseball, but collecting tree leaves became my hobby. Then in school I learned that plants were more than lovely, they were interesting. Finally, as a working scientist, I realized that they were important to our lifestyle and our environment. Lovely, interesting, and important, that is the conceptual tripod upon which I’ve based my career at Rutgers,” he said.
An internationally recognized botanist who has experimentally explored mutualisms, plant population growth and ecological genetics, Handel has applied these findings to the ecological restoration of urban degraded lands. His research aimed to understand new ecological restoration protocols, based on a botanical foundation, and use these in the design of public lands by collaborating with landscape architects. This groundbreaking collaboration is a hallmark of his recent work and opened new doors for the application of botanical knowledge to the public sphere.
Steven Handel speaking at the BSA conference on June 19, 2024.
Handel’s collaborative efforts with landscape architects and urban planners have been instrumental in transforming degraded urban landscapes into thriving ecosystems. Projects such as the restoration of Brooklyn Bridge Park and the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, exemplify his commitment to integrating scientific rigor with practical application.
He added, “I thank the teachers who trained me, from public school through graduate school, and my Rutgers students and wonderful lab staff, who with their energy and enthusiasm have helped keep me going when the work is so hard. SEBS at Rutgers has given me the opportunity to work with both biologists and landscape architects to improve our environment for a more sustainable and biodiverse future.
A BSA member for 40 years, Handel has served as the Genetics Section chair and on several BSA committees, as well as the advisor of four Rutgers undergraduates who received the Young Botanist Award. His dedication to education over his long and distinguished career has been evident through his mentorship of numerous graduate students and in the outpouring of praise, below, from the many nomination letters submitted to BSA for this award.
“One of the most impactful and dynamic plant ecologists of our time.”
“Steven has led by example in so many ways by teaching me how to lead, how to encourage and to mentor, how to be curious and enjoy life, and to remember the humanity of the people I am teaching and engaging with and to use kindness always. And through that, Steven’s legacy of impact on young and future botanists continues to grow.”
“Professor Handel has, more than anyone whose work I am aware of, integrated work in fundamental plant biology and ecology, restoration, and landscape design both in actualization and in teaching.”
“Dr. Handel is an internationally acclaimed scholar and leader in applied botany through integrating plant ecology with conservation, ecological restoration, and landscape planning and design. He has made enormous contributions to applying botanical principles to improving public landscapes, in addition to fundamental botanical research such as pollination, gene flow, and plant population ecology.”
