Simon Levin, Princeton University professor of biology, ecology, and evolutionary biology, will receive a National Medal of Science, the country’s highest honor in science, at a White House ceremony in early 2016.

“It was a delightful surprise,” Mr. Levin said. ”For me, there is no more meaningful recognition than the National Medal of Science, and I am grateful to so many for their support С family, mentors, colleagues, and students. Princeton University has been a wonderful place to pursue the interdisciplinary work that is essential for dealing with the challenges of managing our environment sustainably.”

Mr. Levin’s work in ecology has shaped how scientists consider the larger implications of local factors, according to Lars Hedin, chair of ecology and evolutionary biology at Princeton. “His work on ecological theory and on how macroscopic patterns emerge from local interactions among organisms has influenced a generation of scientists,” Mr. Hedin stated, “and is continuing to influence the way we think about biodiversity, complexity, and human agency in a world that is undergoing rapid environmental change.”

Mr. Levin described his award as “a great recognition for the importance of ecology and environmental science. So many of my colleagues in the ecological community have expressed their sense of gratification in that recognition.”

Complexity, particularly how large-scale patterns С such as at the ecosystem level С are maintained by small-scale behavioral and evolutionary factors at the level of individual organisms, has been the focus of Mr. Levin’s research. His work uses observational data and mathematical models to explore topics such as biological diversity, the evolution of structure and organization, and the management of public goods and shared resources.

In addition to ecology, Mr. Levin, the Moffett Professor of Biology at Princeton, has also done research in the fields of conservation, financial and economic systems, and the dynamics of infectious diseases and antibiotic resistance.

“In recent years,” Mr. Levin states on his website, “I have turned my attention to the parallels between ecological systems and financial and economic systems,  particularly with regard to what makes them vulnerable to collapse, and to the evolution and development of structure and organization. I have been especially interested in the management of public goods and common-pool resources.”

Daniel Rubenstein, Princeton professor of zoology, ecology, and evolutionary biology, stated that Mr. Levin is among “the towering figures who brought simple math to bear on ecology to reorganize and shape thinking and project design.” A frequent collaborator with Mr. Levin, Mr. Rubenstein added that this work transformed ecology from a largely measurement-based and descriptive science into one that is conceptual.

“The essential mathematical challenge,” Mr. Levin said, “is the development of macroscopic descriptions for the collective behavior of large and heterogeneous ensembles that are subject to continual evolutionary modification. Specific attention is directed to the evolution and ecology of collective behavior, from the movements of flocks of birds and schools of fish to human decision-making.”

Mr. Levin observed that international climate accords reached last month in Paris “represent important steps forward, though much more remains to be done. The case for climate warming is a very strong one, based on patterns over multiple years and Paris must be only a first step.”

Mr. Levin edited the popular Princeton Guide to Ecology (2009) and The Encyclopedia of Biodiversity (2000), and his numerous other publications include Fragile Dominion: Complexity and the Commons (1999), an introduction to his view of the issues underlying the dynamics and management of ecological systems, with broad analogies to socioeconomic systems.

In addition to Mr. Levin, the White House ceremony will honor eight other Medal of Science recipients and eight recipients of the National Medal of Technology and Innovation.