Benjamin Wong Blonder

Benjamin Wong Blonder is an Associate Professor and Haydn P. Reinecker Distinguished Professor in Forest Genetics at UC Berkeley's Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management. His research examines plant responses to climate change using eco-informatics, physiological modeling, and remote sensing. He directs the Macrosystems Ecology Laboratory and co-founded the UA Sky School for K-12 science education.

Research focuses on plant functional traits, community assembly under climate stress, and forest resilience. Recent work includes heatwave impacts on desert plants and tropical deforestation consequences. Blonder mentors PhD students in ecology and biodiversity informatics, and leads NSF-funded projects on alpine plant demography.

• ERC Advanced Grant for microclimate modeling (2021)
• National Geographic Young Explorer Award