NEWS Philip Buckland, senior lecturer in environmental archaeology and deputy head at the Department of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies at Umeå University, has been admitted as a Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society (FRES).
Philip Buckland
Philip Buckland says that The Royal Entomological Society’s primary aims are “the improvement and diffusion of entomological science”; the study of insects. The society publishes a number of internationally important scientific journals and handbooks, and organises conferences and meetings for scientists and the general public. It also maintains a large library and provides a number of grants and awards to support insect related projects and expeditions.
– The Royal Entomological Society was founded in 1833 and originates from earlier societies dating back to 1745. A large number of internationally recognised entomologists, including Charles Darwin and Alfred Wallace, have been and are, Fellows of the Society, Philip Buckland says and continues:
– “Fellowship” is an academic qualification representing a substantial contribution to entomology, through publications or other evidence of achievement. Admission is governed by a process of nomination by existing Fellows and Council review.
Based in the Faculty of Arts, and heavily digitally orientated, Philip Buckland’s insect related work has focussed on the use of fossil insects in the reconstruction of past climates, environments and human activities. Being the most diverse group of animals on the planet, insects can be found in almost any habitat, a fact which makes them extremely useful indicators of past and present environmental change.
Using our understanding of the requirements of living insects, we can create visualisations of past conditions on the evidence of the fossils found in archaeological and geological samples.
Philip’s work is transdisciplinary in nature, integrating theories and methods from the natural sciences and humanities, often through digital techniques such as open access databases and software development. His publication topics include, among other things, the environmental implications of fossil insects in medieval Scandinavian farms, lists of extinct beetle species in the UK and international research database infrastructures.
Biography
Dr. Philip Buckland (FRES) was born in Northern England in 1973 and intended to become a software engineer and graphic designer. Through a combination of genetics and luck he ended up working as a contract archaeologist after graduating with a BSc in geography from Durham University.
The quest for adventure and education eventually led him to the Archaeology Department and Environmental Archaeology Lab at Umeå University, where Prof. emeritus Roger Engelmark was interested in developing the use of both fossil insects and databases in archaeological investigations.
A part-time Master’s in archaeology was eventually followed by a PhD in environmental archaeology which focused on the development of a database and software system for palaeoentomology and entomology, the Bugs Coleopteran Ecology Package (BugsCEP).
This open access system is now the most commonly used research and teaching aid for Quaternary fossil insect studies and has resulted in over 100 publications (http://www.bugscep.com/publications.html).
Philip’s interest in research infrastructures has continued as director of the Swedish Research Council funded Strategic Environmental Archaeology Database (http://www.sead.se), and coordinator of the pending Consortium of Swedish Archaeological Research Laboratories (http://www.archlab.se).
About The Royal Entomological Society
Picture of Philip Buckland in high resolution
Philip I Buckland, Environmental Archaeology Lab.Department of Historical, Philosophical & Religious StudiesTelephone +4690-786 5292, +46 783 321131
E-mail: phil.buckland@arke.umu.se
Editor: Per Melander
