Arthur H. Westing (July 18, 1928 – April 30, 2020) was an American ecologist.^[1] He was a longtime researcher at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.^[2]

Biography

Westing was born in Brooklyn, New York on July 18, 1928, to Dr. Siegfried W. Westing and Paula (Riesenfeld) Westing.^[1] Growing up in Brooklyn, he was an Eagle Scout, which instilled in him a love for nature and the environment. Westing then graduated from Columbia University in 1950 with a B.A. in botany and served in the United States Marine Corps during the Korean War.^[3] He returned to the United States after the war and earned his master's degree in forestry and doctorate in plant physiology and ecology from Yale University.^[1][4]

Westing taught at a number of academic institutions, including Purdue University, Middlebury College, Hampshire College, Windham College, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst.^[1] He received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1973.^[5]

From 1975 to 1987, Westing was a member of the research staff of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.^[2] His research focused on the military impact of the environment and was considered an expert in the field of environmental security.^[2] He also worked for Peace Research Institute Oslo from 1988 to 1990, where he worked on his project on ‘Peace, Security, and Environment’ funded by the United Nations Environment Programme.^[6] He was a visiting professor at the European Peace University and Durham University.^[2]

Westing died on April 30, 2020, in Shelburne, Vermont.^[1]