Brian D. Fath is a Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Towson University (Maryland, USA) and Research Scholar within the Advanced Systems Analysis Program at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (Laxenburg, Austria). Prof. Fath has also taught courses on ecological networks and modeling in Portugal, China, Italy, Germany, Denmark, Croatia, France, Russia, and South Africa. He holds visiting faculty appointments at the School of Environment, Beijing Normal University and at the State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences both in Beijing, China. He was a Fulbright Distinguished Chair at Parthenope University of Naples, Italy in spring 2012 and recipient of the Prigogine Medal in 2016. His research is in the area of systems ecology and network analysis applied to the sustainability and resilience of socio-ecological systems. Prof. Fath has published more than 140 research papers, reports, and book chapters. He co-authored three books and is also the Editor-in-Chief for the journal Ecological Modelling; Editor-in-Chief for Encyclopedia of Ecology (2nd edition, to be published 2018); Secretary General of the International Society for Ecological Modelling; co-Chair of the Ecosystem Dynamics Focus Research Group in the Community Surface Modeling Dynamics System; and, member and past Chair of Baltimore County Commission on Environmental Quality.