aron Wolf is being presented with the Gilbert White Public Service Award in recognition of his work on the important issue of global water negotiations. His work on water, conflict and peace has a particular connection to the legacy of Gilbert White in seeking peaceful approaches to international competition over natural resources and in taking geographic ideas beyond the discipline to public policy.

In addition to his position as Professor of Geography at Oregon State University, Aaron Wolf is also Director and Founding Partner, Universities Partnership for Transboundary Waters, a consortium of 10 universities on five continents which supports focused training, research, and service; Director, Program in Water Conflict Management & Transformation ; a Member of the Water Permanent Monitoring Programme, World Federation of Scientists, and Member, River and Lake Basins Ecosystems Working Group of the United Nations Environment Programme.

Over the course of his career, Wolf has been involved in developing strategies for resolving water aspects of the Arab-Israeli conflict, including co-authoring a State Department reference text, and participating in both official and “track II” meetings between co-riparians. He is a trained mediator/facilitator and has offered workshops, facilitations, and mediation in basins throughout the world. He developed and coordinates the Transboundary Freshwater Dispute Database, which includes a computer compilation of 400 water related treaties, negotiating notes and background material on fourteen case-studies of conflict resolution among other things.

A college from Hebrew sums up Professor Wolf’s success by identifying the factors that contribute to his success — his outstanding scholarship; his engaging personality; and his readiness to undertake extensive exhausting travel and assignments for the public good. Others have noted the way he works with colleagues, especially how he has focused his own time on understanding the potential role of spirituality in understanding international problem solving-a focus on positive transformation.

He has been described as a ‘consummate professional geographer.’ His contributions to public service are an integral part of his research – others might say his life. What may be of particular interest says one of his nominees is his special gift to motivate a generation of once-doubting decision-makers entrenched in Middle East water politics-Palestinian, Jordanian, and Israeli policy-makers alike.

Wolf has worked relentlessly to further peaceful solution to problems that affect countries joined together by the fate of nature. For these many reasons the 2016 Gilbert White Public Service Award is presented to Dr. Aaron Wolf for his extraordinary service to the discipline throughout his career.