Sean B. CarrollNCSE congratulates Sean B. Carroll for winning the 2010 Stephen Jay Gould Prize from the Society for the Study of Evolution (to be awarded at the SSE meeting in Portland, Oregon, in June 2010) and for becoming the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's vice president for science education (beginning in September 2010).
In announcing the award, the Society for the Study of Evolution cited Carroll's "distinguished career both advancing the science of evolution and in conveying that knowledge to the general public," noting that he is "a leading spokesperson in the public sphere for evolutionary biology" and listing his numerous honors for scientific and educational achievements.
The Stephen Jay Gould Prize is awarded annually by the Society for the Study of Evolution to recognize individuals whose sustained and exemplary efforts have advanced public understanding of evolutionary science and its importance in biology, education, and everyday life in the spirit of Stephen Jay Gould; its first recipient was NCSE's executive director Eugenie C. Scott.
Carroll will also become the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's vice president for science education, according to a press release issued on April 7, 2010, which described him as "a gifted scientist who also displays an extraordinary talent for translating complicated scientific ideas in compelling, understandable ways to members of the public of all ages."
In the same press release, Carroll explained, "I want to help other people have as much fun as I have. ... We all need inspiration, but how do we nourish curiosity and inspire an interest in science, particularly among young people? These are crucial challenges and I hope to promote the very positive role that science can play in our culture."
A Supporter of NCSE, Carroll is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator and Professor of Molecular Biology, Genetics, and Medical Genetics at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He is the author of, most recently, Remarkable Creatures (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009), and a monthly column published in The New York Times Science Times.