Wilson Wins Int'l Biology Prize

Baird Professor of Science E.O. Wilson, the world's foremost expert on ants and a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, added to his swarm of honors this week with the 1993 International Prize in Biology.

Wilson won the prize, given by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, for his work in ecology and biodiversity and for his establishment of the field of sociobiology.

No Harvard biologist had won the award since its inception in 1985. Wilson will be awarded a medal and ten million yen (roughly $95,000) at a ceremony in Tokyo on November 29.

Although several of Wilson's colleagues had not been informed of his most recent honor, many praised the professor's work.

"He is alone in his success in communicating...rigorous biological information, without compromise, to the public and... imparting to the reader the sense of wonder and beauty," Bullard Professor of Forestry Peter S. Ashton said.

The Japan Society selected Wilson from among 47 other scientists worldwide. With the award, Wilson completes a triple crown of sorts. He has won both the National Medal of Science and the Craaford Prize, the highest international award in biology.

Said Professor of Biology Kenneth J. Boss: "He's a great winner and he deserves all the credit he gets."