Fakhri A. Bazzaz
Fakhri A. Bazzaz, H. H. Timkin Professor of Science from 1984 to 1997 and then Mallinckodt Professor of Biology from 1997 until his retirement in 2004, passed away on February 6, 2008, of complications following a stroke. A giant in the field of plant ecology, Bazzaz transformed the study of plant population biology through his deep knowledge of plant physiology. The dominant theme throughout his career was that of how plants respond to natural and anthropogenic disturbance, from the classical area of plant succession—how plant communities succeed one another over time—to the impacts of global climate change on the productivity and stability of ecosystems. Bazzaz’s landmark studies of old-field succession broke with the descriptive paradigm that dominated mid-twentieth century plant ecology and established a modern experimental approach grounded in mechanistic understanding of plant physiology and community interactions. He played an equally important role in the study of climate change, conducting...