Pulitzer Prize Winning Scientist, Alabamian E.O. Wilson To Speak At UA

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. ­ World-renowned scientist and Birmingham native Edward O. Wilson, whose scientific accomplishments and flair for writing have earned him two Pulitzer Prizes and recognition from Sweden’s Royal Academic of Sciences, will return to his University of Alabama alma mater to speak.

Wilson, who received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biology from UA, will present the inaugural Bloom Undergraduate Initiative Lectureship Wednesday, Sept. 27, at 4 p.m., in the auditorium of Morgan Hall on the UA campus.

Endowed by Star and Stan Bloom of Tuscaloosa, the lectureship is designed to bring prominent scholars, researchers and writers to the University as part of the Blount Undergraduate Initiative in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Additionally, Wilson will attend the 10th Anniversary Celebration of the Eric and Sarah Rodgers Science and Engineering Library on Thursday, Sept. 28, at 10 a.m. in the Rodgers Library foyer. The public is invited to attend the free event. His book “The Naturalist” was the two millionth volume to be added to UA’s library collections in 1995, and he was also a guest speaker during that two millionth volume celebration.

Wilson, who was named to Time magazine’s 25 Most Influential Americans list, is the world’s leading expert on the biology of ants and one of the world’s leading experts on evolution and species diversity. He is the Pelligrino University Research Professor at

Harvard University, where he has taught and conducted research for more than 45 years.

In a series of groundbreaking experiments, Wilson discovered pheromones, the hormonal substances by which ants communicate. This work provided insight for scientists into ways in which other animals, including humans, may communicate chemically. He is also known internationally as “the father of sociobiology” for his study of the genetic basis of social behavior in animals and humans.

Drawing from his worldwide studies of insect behavior, Wilson has extended his ideas further into larger populations of insects and animals, observing and writing about how their surroundings influence their behavior.

A Birmingham native, Wilson chronicled his childhood sloshing through the woods and creeks of Alabama in his best selling, 1994 autobiography “Naturalist.” His Pulitzer Prize-winning books include “The Ants” (1979) and “On Human Nature” (1991). In 1990, Wilson was awarded the Crafoord Prize by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, an honor equal to the Nobel Prize but given in a category not covered by the Nobel. His most recent books, “The Diversity of Life” (1992) and “Consilience” (1999) were published to critical acclaim.

Created at UA in 1999, the Blount Undergraduate Initiative is a four-year program that affirms the value of a liberal arts education based on classical traditions. The program is designed to offer a challenging environment of a small, liberal arts college in the heart of a comprehensive research university.

The College of Arts and Sciences is Alabama’s largest liberal arts college and the University’s largest division with 320 faculty and 6,000 students.