David Takayoshi Suzuki is a Canadian scientist who is known worldwide from his work in science and tackling of environmental issues. He has been able to educate the public on issues in an effective way through his television series, The Nature of Things, his CBC podcast Quirks and Quarks and through the many books he has released. In these creative forms he was able to educate people around Canada and around the world of environmental issues being faced and was able to do so in a way where even those without a science background were able to understand and were kept informed.
Suzuki’s grandparents migrated to Canada from Japan. He grew up in British Columbia but later moved to Ontario. He completed his undergrad with a major in biology at Amherst College and later did his Ph.D. in zoology at University of Chicago. Suzuki worked as a professor at University of British Columbia from 1963 to 2001. In 1990 David Suzuki co-founded the David Suzuki Foundation which is a non-profit environmental organization that has a mission in balancing human life with the environment. The organization focuses on many environmental concerns including climate, biodiversity, and the impact of human life on the environment. Through this foundation he has been able to provide research and advise the government and many businesses on how to improve their conditions.
I chose this biologist because growing up in Canada I had always heard of him and was always very inspired by him and his organization. He was someone who I looked up to and kept up with and had influenced my liking and interest to also do a biology major.
Applied Plant Ecology Winter 2020 