Rate My Professor Steven Peck

Steven Peck is a Professor in the Department of Biology at Brigham Young University. He earned a BS in statistics and computer science with a minor in zoology from Brigham Young University in 1986, an MS in environmental biostatistics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a PhD in biomathematics and entomology from North Carolina State University in 1997, with a dissertation titled "Spatial Patterns and Processes in the Evolution of Insecticide Resistance." Peck has been on the faculty at Brigham Young University since 2000. His research specializations include biomathematics, simulation modeling, philosophy of simulation, evolution and philosophy, evolution and theology, and bioethics. He is affiliated with evolutionary ecology and philosophy of science on his Google Scholar profile. Peck teaches courses such as History and Philosophy of Biology (Bio 470), Bioethics (Bio 370), Simulation and Ecology (Bio 555), and an honors seminar HONRS 221 on "The Music of Birds and Humans." He mentors students interested in his research and teaching areas.

Peck has received the College of Life Sciences Teaching Award (2012), Eric Hoffer Award Short List and Montaigne Medal (2020), Alcuin Award in General Education (2022-2025), Eliza R. Snow Grant from Brigham Young University (2023-2025), and the 2021 Smith-Pettit Foundation Award for Outstanding Contribution to Mormon Letters. His peer-reviewed publications exceed fifty articles, with highly cited works including "Simulation as experiment: a philosophical reassessment for biological modeling" (Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 2004; 410 citations), "Using ant species (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) as a biological indicator of agroecosystem condition" (Environmental Entomology, 1998; 325 citations), "Potential for areawide integrated management of Mediterranean fruit fly (Diptera: Tephritidae) with a braconid parasitoid and a novel bait spray" (Journal of Economic Entomology, 2001; 283 citations), "Spread of Resistance in Spatially Extended Regions of Transgenic Cotton: Implications for Management of Heliothis virescens (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)" (Journal of Economic Entomology, 1999; 228 citations), and "Field tests of environmentally friendly malathion replacements to suppress wild Mediterranean fruit fly (Diptera: Tephritidae) populations" (Journal of Economic Entomology, 2000; 187 citations). Peck is a member of the Philosophy of Science Association (since 2003) and served as an ad hoc reviewer for the US-EPA (2010).