Michael Samways

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Michael Samways

Author of books on insects and conservation biology
Professor of Entomology and Director of the
Invertebrate Conservation Research Centre, Stellenbosch University

Michael John Samways was born on 22 October 1949. He attended the Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe where he won the 6th Form Prize for Zoology. He completed his bachelor's and doctoral degrees at Nottingham and London Universities during which time he won five scholarships. After a Post-doctoral Fellowship in London and France, and commercial experience in glasshouse biocontrol, Michael went to Brazil to work on fuel alcohol production. He then worked in citrus entomology in Nelspruit, for seven years, before taking up the Chair of Entomology at Natal University, which he held for 16 years. During that time he developed the Invertebrate Conservation Research Centre which won world acclaim, and two awards for Research Excellence in 2002. He received the Senior Kaptain Scott memorial medal in 2007.
Michael joined Stellenbosch University in January 2003 as Professor in the Department of Entomology with a vision to build a world-class research centre in the field of agricultural biodiversity (Centre for Agricultural Biodiversity). This is an exciting challenge in the agriculturally important and biodiversity-rich Western Cape.
Michael is a Fellow of the Royal Society of South Africa and Sometime Fellow of the University of Natal, as well as long-term Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society. He has been involved in several national and global strategic plans, and is currently on the World Conservation Union's Executive Committee and is Chair of the Southern African Invertebrates Specialist Group which he formed in 2001. He is on the Editorial Boards of Conservation Biology, Biodiversity and Conservation, Journal of Insect Conservation and Odonatologica. He is A-rated by the National Research Foundation.

Awards include
John Herschel Medalist of the Royal Society of South Africa 2008
Senior Captain Scott Medalist of the South African Academy of Sciences and Arts
Gold Medalist of the Academy of Science for South Africa
RectorÕs Award for Excellence in Research, 2006 & 2010
Distinguished Scientist Award at the Global Conference of Entomology 2011

Michael has authored some 270 scientific publications, including several books, chapters in books and journal special issues.
His books Biological Control of Pests and Weeds and Insect Conservation Biology were international best sellers.

Books:

Tropical Island Recovery

Insect Diversity Conservation, 2004

Insect Conservation Biology, 1994

Dragonflies of the Natal Drakensberg
(with Gael Whiteley), 1998

Biological Control of Pests and Weeds, Edward Arnold, 1981
Insect Conservation Biology, Chapman and Hall, 1994
Dragonflies of the Natal Drakensburg by Michael J. Samways, Gael Whitely , University of Natal Press, 1997
Insect Diversity Conservation, Cambridge University Press, 2005
Dragonflies and Damselflies of South Africa, Pensoft, 2008
Insect Conservation: A Handbook of Approaches and Methods (with McGeoch MA and New TR), Oxford University Press, UK, November 2009
Tropical Island Recovery - The Remarkable Story of Cousine Island, Seychelles (with Peter Hitchins, Orty Bourquin, and Jock Henwood), Wiley-Blackwell, 2010
Water Dancers of South Africa's National Botanical Gardens (Co-author: C Willis). SANBI, Pretoria, South Africa, 2011

Text by Michael Samways, December 2004

Books