UCI professor wins science honor

-- Deirdre Newman

A UC Irvine biologist has won a National Medal of Science, the highest

scientific honor in the U.S.

Francisco J. Ayala, whose genetic research on the origin of species

has revolutionized evolutionary biology, is one of 15 U.S. scientists and

engineers to receive this year’s medal. President Bush will honor them at

a White House ceremony later this month.

Ayala is the second UCI faculty member to receive the National Medal

of Science.

“I am extremely humbled and thankful beyond words,” Ayala said in a

prepared statement. “I am particularly pleased that this honor comes to

me as a faculty member at UCI, whose achievements and recognitions are

growing at an ever accelerated rate, and that so very much has

facilitated my work and provided excellent conditions for teaching.”

The Donald Bren professor of biological sciences, Ayala has

revolutionized evolution theory by pioneering the use of molecular

biology methods in the investigation of evolutionary processes.

His research has led to a new understanding of the origin of species,

the pervasiveness of genetic diversity, the genetic structure of

populations and rates of evolution among other concepts.

He has published more than 750 articles and is author or editor of 18

books.