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Edward O. Wilson
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Webcast : Address (video) (14/9) |
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Read the Summary |
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Document(s) Presentation : Wilson.pdf |
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Pellegrino Professor, Emeritus, Harvard University, USA
Edward O. Wilson's career began with the study of the social behaviour
of ant populations. He demonstrated that certain aspects of ant
behaviour could be triggered by chemical signals, showing that their
behaviour was programmed, not learned. He applied these ideas to study
the behaviour of other animals, including man, concluding that our
genes and our environment intertwine to make us what we are. He has
been lauded as one of the founders of the modern environmental movement
and is a passionate defender of the need for our human society to seek
out means of sustainable interaction with Planet Earth, the only home
we have. He has long argued that as human beings multiply and use the
Earth's resources to fuel the hedonistic lifestyle practised by the
Industrialised countries, the planet's ecosystem is increasingly
threatened. Professor Wilson's recent publications make a compelling
case that mankind must act rapidly to preserve the Earth's biodiversity
for our descendents.
Credited with first bringing the concept of
biodiversity to mass public attention in 1988, almost 20 years later he
continues to encourage society to respond with a greater sense of
urgency to the irrefutable evidence that the diversity of life on Earth
is in rapid decline. Professor Wilson's many contributions to science
have received international recognition. He has received 27 honorary
doctoral degrees and more than 70 awards, including the U.S medal of
Science (1976), The German Terrestrial Ecology Prize (1987), the French
Prix du Institut de la Vie (1990), the Crafoord Prize from the Royal
Swedish Academy of Sciences (1990), the Japanese International Prize
for Biology (1993), the Franklin Medal of the American Philosophical
Society (1999), and the King Faisal International Prize for Science
(2000). His conservation work has also been recognised through the
award of the Gold medal of the World Wide Fund for Nature and the
Audubon Medal of the Audubon Society. His books have also been widely
acclaimed and he has twice been awarded the Pullitzer Prize. |
