Richard Lenski

for the Lutheran commentator see Richard C. H. Lenski

Richard Lenski
Born	August 3, 1956(1956-08-03)
Fields	Evolutionary biology
Institutions	Michigan State University University of California, Irvine
Alma mater	University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill Oberlin College
Known for	E. coli long-term evolution experiment
Notable awards	MacArthur Fellowship
Website
myxo.css.msu.edu

Richard E. Lenski (born August 13, 1956) is an American evolutionary biologist. He is the son of sociologist Gerhard Lenski. He earned his BA from Oberlin College in 1976, and his PhD from the University of North Carolina in 1982. He is a fellow at the American Academy of Microbiology and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and holds the office Hannah Distinguished Professor of microbial ecology at Michigan State University. In 1996, Lenski won a MacArthur Fellowship, and in 2006 he was elected to the United States National Academy of Sciences.

Lenski is best known for his long-term E. coli evolution experiment and his work with digital organisms, using Avida. On February 17, 2010, he co-founded the NSF Science and Technology Center for the Study of Evolution in Action, known as the BEACON Center.

Dialogue with Andy Schlafly

Andy Schlafly, the founder and owner of wiki Conservapedia, entered into correspondence with Richard Lenski about the results of the E. coli long-term evolution experiment which showed speciation of E. coli bacteria over 10,000 generations. The correspondence was commented on across the internet.

External links

• E. coli Long-term Experimental evolution site
• BEACON Center for the Study of Evolution in Action
• News release from Michigan State University
• The Loom : A New Step In Evolution