Dennis Lynn Meadows[1] (born June 7, 1942) is an American scientist and Emeritus Professor of Systems Management, and former director of the Institute for Policy and Social Science Research at the University of New Hampshire.

[5][better source needed] He has been a corporate board member and a consultant for government, industry and non-profit groups in the U.S. and many countries abroad.

He co-founded the Balaton Group, an international network of over 300 professionals in over 30 nations involved in systems science, public policy and sustainable development.

The Limits to Growth is a 1972 book modeling the consequences of a rapidly growing world population and finite resource supplies, commissioned by the Club of Rome.

Meadows explained: "Now we must tell people how to manage an orderly reduction of their activities back down below the limits of the earth's resources.

A selection: Among his many honors and awards have been: In 2009 he received the Japan Prize for his "contributions in the area of "Transformation towards a sustainable society in harmony with nature.

In 2008 he was inducted as a laureate into the Earth Hall of Fame in Kyoto, Japan for his contributions to the preservation of the environment with pioneering academic research into sustainable resource use.