Eugene P. Odum has been called "the ecologist's ecologist," meaning that he has been of special significance to his colleagues in the development of the discipline, and in formulating its content, outlines, and boundaries. He helped lay the foundations for what might be called the "modern" study of ecology in the 1940s and 1950s by redirecting the field to studies based on energetics, on the relatively new ecosystem concept, and on functional as well as structural analyses of living communities. From early in his career, he has worked to define general principles in ecology. His colleagues and associates have recognized him by electing him president of the Ecological Society of America, through election to the National Academy of Sciences, and through the awarding of prestigious prizes, including the Tyler Award in 1977 and the Crafoord Prize in...