Rate My Professor William Bond

William Bond is Emeritus Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Cape Town. He earned a B.Sc. (Hons.) from the University of Exeter in 1970, an M.Sc. from the University of Cape Town in 1981, and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1987. His academic career at the University of Cape Town began in 1988 as a lecturer in the Botany Department, progressing to professor from 1993 to 2013. He served as Chief Scientist at the South African Environmental Observation Network from 2014 to 2018 and has held the position of Emeritus Professor since 2013. Bond previously worked in natural resource surveys and ecological research in Mozambique and South Africa.

His research focuses on the ecology, biogeography, and evolution of open ecosystems, including savannas, grasslands, and fynbos shrublands, with particular emphasis on the roles of fire and herbivores in shaping these systems. He has authored or co-authored several books, including Open Ecosystems: Ecology and Evolution Beyond the Forest Edge (2019), Fire on Earth: An Introduction (2014), Fire Ecology, Evolution and Management in Mediterranean Climate Ecosystems (2011), and Fire and Plants (1996). Bond is a highly cited researcher with over 78,000 citations. His honors include election as a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2021, Foreign Associate of the National Academy of Sciences (USA) in 2013, Fellow of the Royal Society of South Africa, Fellow of the University of Cape Town, and multiple awards from the South African Association of Botanists, including the Gold Medal in 2016. He supervised numerous graduate students who have gone on to prominent academic and conservation roles.