Dr. Kurt Grimm is an associate professor in the Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences at UBC. In recent years, his established research expertise in Earth system history, paleoecology and paleoenvironmental  reconstruction  has flourished into theory and applied theory relating to the emerging sustainability sciences.

More specifically, all of Kurt’s interests are unified  in a single sentence; complexity is simple, not complicated.  The science (or “phenomenology”) of complexity unifies pattern and process across molecular to galaxial scales (and beyond).  The goal of Kurt's work is the development and communication of simple descriptions with broad explanatory power, and delivering those for empirical testing and effective implementation.

Sustainability is a verb. To live sustainably, we need to understand what Life is and how it works. The organismic, neodarwinian perspective is incomplete and insufficient to the task. Unique and simple concepts for complex dynamical organizations are delivering new insights into rapid changing on socioplanet Earth; these insights directly and uniquely inform climate sciences, urban ecology and the emerging sustainability sciences. 

Prominent in this synthesis is career-scale objective titled A Unified Description of Life (AUDOL). AUDOL is a simple, useful and unique synthesis uniting the science of organisms with the commonalities shared by ecosystems, populations, languages, cultures, communities and well beyond. Applying these concepts make sustainability simple, compelling, engaging and fun.     

These three publications summarize some major aspects of my ongoing work.

1. Is Earth a Living System? http://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2003AM/finalprogram/abstract_62123.htm
[contact kgrimm@eos.ubc.ca for draft manuscripts: 1) A Unified Description of Life; 2) Autocatalytic Planet].


2. Wet Tectonics:
http://www.agu.org/meetings/fm05/fm05-sessions/fm05_H33C.html
(see abstract H33C-1396; contact kgrimm@eos.ubc.ca for draft manuscript].

3. Katrina, Wilma and me: Learning to Live with Climate Surprises? http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0QQS/is_2_33/ai_n16726495
[contact kgrimm@eos.ubc.ca for reprint].