Eugene Pleasants Odum (September 17, 1913 – August 10, 2002) was an American biologist at the University of Georgia known for his pioneering work on ecosystem ecology.

[1] After getting his Ph.D. in 1939, Odum was hired to be the first resident biologist at the Edmund Niles Huyck Preserve and Biological Research Station, in Rensselaerville, New York.

[3] Odum and Martha Ann Huff, whom he had met as a student, married at her home in Wilmette, Illinois, on November 18, 1939.

Their son William died in 1991 at the age of 48, but had already made important contributions to science while a faculty member at the University of Virginia.

Odum brought forward the importance of ecology as a discipline that should be a fundamental dimension of the training of a biologist.

Before Odum, the ecology of specific organisms and environments had been studied on a more limited scale within individual sub-disciplines of biology.

While Odum did wish to influence the knowledge base and thinking of fellow biologists and of college and university students, his historical role was not as a promoter of public environmentalism as we now know it.

However, his dedication in his 1963 book, Ecology, expressed that his father had inspired him to "seek more harmonious relationships between man and nature".

Plans included that over 50 percent of the property would be protected greenspace and walking trails, managed by the Oconee River Land Trust.

The land was sold to builder John Willis Homes who is honoring Odum’s wishes at Beech Creek Preserve.