The inaugural meeting of the Society (2013) was convened by founding president James W. Vaupel at the University of Southern Denmark (Odense, Denmark).
James W. Vaupel (May 2, 1945 – March 27, 2022), from the University of Southern Denmark & Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, founded the Society and was its first President. He believed that cross-disciplinary sharing of research was key to advancing our understanding of aging. He was an inspirational researcher, teacher and leader. Three aspects of his legacy that continues to inspire the Society: mathematical approaches, interdisciplinarity (especially between human demography and evolutionary biology), and empowering early career researchers. At a fundamental level, he was engaged with how uncovering basic biological properties of populations would help humans solve societal issues.
"... Dobzhansky famously observed that nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution. Because evolution is driven by -- and drives -- birth and death rates, it is equally valid that nothing in evolution makes sense except in the light of demography. And to a considerable extent vice versa -- much in demography, especially age patterns of fertility and mortality, makes sense only in the light of evolution ..." -- James W. Vaupel (2020), Foreword, pp. xxii, in Carey & Roach (2020) Biodemography About him: "James W. Vaupel (May 2, 1945 – March 27, 2022) was an American scientist in the fields of aging research, biodemography, and formal demography. He was instrumental in developing and advancing the idea of the plasticity of longevity, and pioneered research on the heterogeneity of mortality risks and on the deceleration of at the highest ages..." -- (Wikepedia) read more |