Barry Commoner

Barry Commoner
Commoner in 1980
Born(1917-05-28)May 28, 1917
Brooklyn, New York, United States
DiedSeptember 30, 2012(2012-09-30) (aged 95)
Manhattan, New York, United States
EducationColumbia University
Harvard University
OccupationBiologist
Spouses
  • Gloria Gordon (divorced; 2 children)
Lisa Feiner
​
(m. 1980)​
AwardsNewcomb Cleveland Prize (1953)

Barry Commoner (May 28, 1917 – September 30, 2012) was an American cellular biologist, college professor, and politician. He was a leading ecologist and among the founders of the modern environmental movement. He was the director of the Center for Biology of Natural Systems[1][2] and its Critical Genetics Project.[3][4][5] He ran as the Citizens Party candidate in the 1980 U.S. presidential election.[6] His work studying the radioactive fallout from nuclear weapons testing led to the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty of 1963.[7]

  1. ^ Daum, Karl (Winter 2012–13). "Obituaries: Barry Commoner '37, Environmental and Social Activist". Columbia College Today. Columbia College. Retrieved September 28, 2020. He also founded the Center for Biology of Natural Systems in 1966 to promote research on ecological systems. In 2000, he stepped down as director to concentrate on new research projects of his own.
  2. ^ "Barry Commoner". Barry Commoner Center for Health and the Environment. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  3. ^ "Program". Critical Genetics Project. Queens College, City University of New York. December 4, 2002. Archived from the original on February 11, 2003. Retrieved September 28, 2020. The program has been underway since February 2001. An initial analytical paper, "Unraveling the DNA Myth," has been published in the Harper's Magazine issue of February 2002....The Critical Genetics Project is a program of the Center for the Biology of Natural Systems (CBNS), Queens College, City University of New York
  4. ^ U.S. Newswire (January 2002). "New Report Challenges Fundamentals of Genetic Engineering; Study Questions Safety of Genetically Engineered Foods". The Pure Water Gazette. Pure Water Products, LLC. Archived from the original on April 19, 2021. Retrieved September 28, 2020. The study reported in Harper's Magazine is the initial publication of a new initiative called The Critical Genetics Project directed by Dr. Commoner in collaboration with molecular geneticist Dr. Andreas Athanasiou, at the Center for the Biology of Natural Systems, Queens College, City University of New York.
  5. ^ Commoner, Barry (February 1, 2002). "Unraveling the DNA myth". Harper's Magazine. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
  6. ^ Vinciguerra, Thomas (June 19, 2007). "A Conversation with Barry Commoner: At 90, an Environmentalist From the '70s Still Has Hope". The New York Times. Retrieved October 2, 2012.
  7. ^ Lewis, Daniel (October 1, 2012). "Scientist, Candidate and Planet Earth's Lifeguard". The New York Times. Retrieved March 11, 2018.