Benjamin Pierce received a B.S. in Biology from Southern Methodist University and a Ph.D. from the University of Colorado. Ben worked as assistant professor at Connecticut College from 1980-1984, and then took a position on the faculty at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, where he taught for 21 years. From 1996-2002, Ben served as Associate Dean for Sciences at Baylor. Ben is currently Professor of Biology and holder of the Lillian Nelson Pratt Chair at Southwestern University, Georgetown, TX. He is a population geneticist who conducts ecological and evolutionary research on amphibians. Ben has authored 36 articles in research journals and several books, including: The Family Genetics Sourcebook, a guide to genetics for the layperson; Genetics: A Conceptual Approach, a general genetics textbook, now in its fourth edition, which has been adopted for use by over 300 colleges and universities; Genetics Essentials: Concepts and Connections, a brief genetics textbook; and Transmission and Population Genetics: A Short Course, a textbook for courses in transmission and population genetics.Ben is a member of the steering committee of the 21st Century Science Coalition, a group of scientists who support strong science standards for Texas public schools. He is past President of the Texas Academy of Science, is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Sigma Xi, and is a Fellow of the Texas Academy of Science. He currently serves on the editorial board of BioScience. He has received research and teaching grants from the National Geographic Society, the US National Park Service, the National Science Foundation, the 3M Foundation, the W. M. Keck Foundation, and the Williamson County Conservation Foundation. Ben is married and has two children. In his free time, he enjoys camping, canoeing, fly fishing, and hiking with his Labrador retriever Molly.