José Sarukhán Kermez (born 15 July 1940) is a plant biologist and ecologist.
In 1987, he was appointed Vice Chancellor for Science at UNAM, and was Rector (President) from 1989 to 1997.
From 2000 to 2002, he was the Commissioner of the Social and Human Development Cabinet of the Mexican government.
[2][4] Sarukhán has been elected a Fellow of many professional societies, including the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation (1996), U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Royal Society, the Academia de Ciencias de América Latina and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
[5] José Sarukhán Kermez is the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award (Champions of the Earth) in 2016.