Shahid Naeem is Professor of Ecology and chair of the Dept. of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology at Columbia University.  He also serves as Director of Science for Columbia’s Earth Institute Center for Environmental Sustainability (EICES). Recipient of the Ecological Society of America’s Buell and Mercer Awards, as well as the Lenfest Distinguished Faculty award at Columbia University, he is also a fellow of the Ecological Society of America, fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and an Aldo Leopold Leadership fellow.  Considered among the “World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds” in environmental and ecological science by Thompson Reuters/Clarivate, his teaching, research, and publications focus on the importance of biodiversity in the functioning of ecosystems and the services they provide humanity.