Scientists & Scholars

Ronald Boender

Ronald BoenderRonald Boender is the founder and managing partner of Butterfly World in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. It is the first park of its kind in North America and the largest butterfly exhibit in the world. Boender is one of the foremost experts on the rearing of butterflies and their host plants. He is also the founder of the Passiflora Society International and the Endangered Species Laboratory at the University of Florida.



Thomas C. Emmel

Thomas EmmelThomas C. Emmel is a professor of zoology and entomology at the University of Florida and the Director of the McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity at the Florida Museum of Natural History. He received his doctorate in population biology from Stanford University and was a postdoctoral fellow in genetics at the University of Texas. Emmel is the author of nearly 400 publications, including 35 books on biology, evolution, genetics, behavior and ecology of butterflies. He has led Lepidoptera expeditions to more than 40 countries.


Ann Gauger

Ann GaugerAnn Gauger is a senior research scientist at Biologic Institute in Redmond, Washington. Her work uses molecular genetics and genomic engineering to study the origin, organization and operation of metabolic pathways. Gauger received a degree in biology from MIT and a PhD in developmental biology from the University of Washington. She was also a post-doctoral fellow at Harvard University. Her research has been published in Nature, Development, and the Journal of Biological Chemistry.


Paul Nelson

Paul NelsonPaul Nelson is a philosopher of biology, specializing in evolutionary developmental biology (evo-devo). He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1998, and is presently an Adjunct Professor in the M.A. Program in Science & Religion at Biola University. He has published articles in such journals as Biology & Philosophy and Zygon and has contributed essays to numerous anthologies.


Richard Stringer

Richard StringerRichard Stringer teaches biology and environmental science at Harrisburg Community College in Lancaster, PA. He earned a Sc.D from Johns Hopkins University. Stringer worked as a biologist for the Environmental Protection Agency. In 1999, he became the first scientist to document every phase of butterfly metamorphosis with magnetic resonance imaging. This ground-breaking work was done in cooperation with Duke University’s Center for In Vivo Microscopy. Stinger partnered with the California Nanosystems Institute at UCLA to record the sounds of a butterfly’s heart as it beat within a chrysalis. His research was published in the Journal of the Royal Society.