John W. Bickham is Professor Emeritus at Texas A&M University. He received a B.S. and M.S. in Biology from the University of Dayton, and a Ph.D. in Zoology from Texas Tech University. He was Professor of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences at Texas A&M University from 1976 to 2006 and Director of the Center for the Environment and Professor of Forestry and Natural Resources at Purdue University from 2006 to 2012. He was Principal Scientist at Battelle Memorial Institute from 2012 to 2016. Bickham has published over 230 papers in peer-reviewed scientific journals on topics including the genetics, evolution, biodiversity and conservation of marine mammals including Steller’s sea lions and bowhead whales; molecular systematics of bats; and genetic stock structure and evolution of coregonid and salmonid fish. In studies at contaminated sites in Alaska, Azerbaijan, DOE facilities, and Superfund Sites, Dr. Bickham uses a combination of genetic and molecular analyses to elucidate the processes by which genotoxic effects are transmitted through individuals, populations and species. Dr. Bickham is co-author of the book Bats of Jamaica and co-editor of the book Molecular Approaches in Natural Resource Conservation and Management. He serves on the Editorial Board of the journal Ecotoxicology, is past president of the Texas Society of Mammalogists and the Southwestern Association of Naturalists, and since 2003 has served as a member of the U.S. delegation to the Scientific Committee of the International Whaling Commission. Among his recognitions is included Bickham’s little yellow bat (Rhogeessa bickhami), a species named in his honor.