Lord Robert May of Oxford 1936–2020*
Lord (John) Krebs A D , Michael Hassell B and Sir Charles Godfray A C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Department of Zoology University of Oxford, Zoology Research and Administration Building 11a Mansfield Rd, Oxford OX1 3SZ, UK.
B Imperial College London, Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London SW7 2BX, UK and Barnside, Buckland Brewer, Bideford, Devon EX39 5NF, UK.
C Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford, 34 Broad St, Oxford OX1 3BD, UK.
D Corresponding author. Email: john.krebs@zoo.ox.ac.uk
Historical Records of Australian Science 33(1) 42-53 https://doi.org/10.1071/HRv33n1_BM
Published: 11 January 2022
Abstract
Robert May was the leading theoretical ecologist of his generation. He started his career as a theoretical physicist and began the transition to ecology soon after completing a post-doctoral fellowship at Harvard. His mathematical analysis of the stability of ecological communities challenged orthodox views and spawned a new research agenda. He demonstrated that many different patterns of population fluctuations, including chaotic behaviour, could arise from simple mathematical models. Together with R. M. Anderson he transformed the mathematical modelling of infectious diseases. All of his work was characterised by his remarkable ability to reduce complex problems to their essential simplicities. His achievements were recognised by the award of numerous major international prizes. May also served as government chief scientific advisor (UK) between 1995 and 2000, and as president of the Royal Society between 2000 and 2005.
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