Stuart Pimm is a Professor and Senior Research Scientist at the Center for Environmental Research and Conservation, Columbia University. A native of Derby, England, Pimm graduated from Oxford in 1971 and received his Ph.D. three years later from the University of New Mexico. He was a pioneer in his field, becoming a conservation biologist before the term was yet invented. He came to Columbia's Center for Environmental Research and Conservation (CERC) in 1999. Pimm testified in the Congressional debate leading up to the renewal of the Endangered Species Act in 1993. He is the author of The World According to Pimm and The Balance of Nature? Ecological Issues in the Conservation of Species and Communities. Pimm is also active on several advisory boards and reviewing boards for publications.