Daniel H. Janzen Wins 2011 BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award

Daniel H. Janzen, DiMaura Professor of Conservation Biology, has been awarded the 2011 BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in the Ecology and Conservation Biology category for his contributions to the study of tropical ecology and the conservation of tropical ecosystems.

Janzen’s work earned him several honors including the 2003 John Scott Award from the City Trusts of Philadelphia, the Kyoto Prize in Basic Biology in 1997 and the first Crafoord Prize in biology, awarded by the Swedish Royal Academy of Sciences in 1984. He also won the Albert Einstein World Award for Science presented by the World Cultural Council in 2002. Janzen, a former MacArthur Fellow, joined Penn’s faculty in 1976 and was awarded the School’s Ira H. Abrams Memorial Award for Distinguished Teaching.

The BBVA Foundation promotes research in the social and environmental sciences. The Frontiers Awards aim to honor world-class research and artistic creation, specifically those contributions that carry a lasting impact and the ability to break through boundaries.

To learn more about the award, please click here.

More about Janzen’s work:

Arts & Sciences News

1 / 2
Michael Jones-Correa and Sophia Rosenfeld Elected to American Academy of Arts & Sciences

They join three others from the University of Pennsylvania, selected as part of the Academy’s mission to convene leaders from “every field of human endeavor to examine new ideas, address issues of importance to the nation and the world, and work together.”

View Article >
Eva Del Soldato Awarded 2025-26 Rome Prize

She joins Sean Burkholder, of the Weitzman School of Design, and just 33 others in receiving the prestigious honor from the American Academy in Rome.

View Article >
Mark Trodden named Dean of Penn’s School of Arts & Sciences

A distinguished physicist and accomplished academic leader, Trodden will assume the role on June 1.

View Article >
Two Penn Arts & Sciences Faculty Named Guggenheim Fellows

Marcia Chatelain, Presidential Penn Compact Professor of Africana Studies, and Matthew Levendusky, Professor of Political Science, are among 198 in the U.S. and Canada selected for this 100th class of fellows.

View Article >
Penn ATLAS Shares 2025 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics

The team, which includes Joseph Kroll, Evelyn Thomson, Elliot Lipeles, Dylan Rankin, and Brig Williams from the Department of Physics and Astronomy, is part of an expansive collaboration studying high-energy collisions from the Large Hadron Collider.

View Article >
2025 School of Arts & Sciences Teaching Awards Announced

Penn Arts & Sciences annually recognizes faculty, lecturers, and graduate students for their exemplary teaching. This year’s honorees come from 10 departments and two programs.

View Article >