Simon A. Levin is the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Princeton University. He holds a B.A. in Mathematics from Johns Hopkins University and a Ph.D. in Mathematics from the University of Maryland, College Park. Levin’s awards include the Heineken Prize for Environmental Sciences, Kyoto Prize in Basic Sciences, Margalef Prize for Ecology, the Ecological Society of America’s MacArthur and Eminent Ecologist Awards, Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement, and the 2014 National Medal of Science. Levin is noted especially for his contributions to the development of the foundations of spatial ecology, for his work on pattern and scale, and more recently for his research at the interface between ecology and economics, especially problems of public goods, common pool resources, and the global commons.