Geology Professor Matthew James has has been elected a Governing Member of the General Assembly of the Charles Darwin Foundation for the Galapagos Islands (CDF), an international group of scientists, conservationists, and policy makers that provides scientific research and technical information and financial assistance to ensure the proper preservation of the Galapagos Islands. For 50 years, CDF has worked closely with the Galapagos National Park Service, the main Ecuadorian government authority overseeing the safeguarding of the islands' natural resources. The governing body of CDF includes the President of Ecuador and HRH The Grand Duke of Luxembourg. James will travel annually to Quito and the Galapagos Islands to attend the annual meetings of the CDF General Assembly.
Professor James has researched Galapagos paleontology, conservation issues, and human history of the archipelago for 30 years. His current writing project is titled, "Collecting Evolution," and concerns the 1905-06 Galapagos scientific collecting expedition of the California Academy of Sciences which helped vindicate the early evolutionary findings of Charles Darwin.