Gary E. Machlis

Gary E. Machlis is University Professor of Environmental Sustainability at Clemson University. Prior to joining the faculty at Clemson, he served as Science Advisor to the Director, U.S. National Park Service (NPS) and as the Science Integrity Officer for the NPS. He led the Secretary of the Interior’s Strategic Sciences Group, responding to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and Hurricane Sandy. In addition, has led a team working on rebuilding science capacity and science education in Haiti after its devastating earthquake.

Dr. Machlis received his bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Washington, and his Ph.D. in human ecology from Yale University. He has written numerous books and scientific papers on issues of conservation, sustainability, and the politics of science, including (with Jon Jarvis) The Future of Conservation in America: A Chart for Rough Water. His newest book Sustainability for the Forgotten will be published in 2024. At Clemson, he teaches courses on social ecology, scientific integrity, and the politics of science.

Dr. Machlis hs been active in international conservation and has worked in China on the giant panda, tourism and ecology in the Galápagos Islands, and resource management in the national parks of Kenya, Cuba, and Eastern Europe. He serves on the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Board on Environmental Change and Society. In 2010, Dr. Machlis was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is also the Poetry Editor of the journal Park Stewardship Forum.