Edward O. Wilson

In his memoir, Naturalist, Edward O. Wilson wrote, "The University of Alabama saved me. . . [It] was and is the home of first-rate scholars and teachers, and of abounding opportunities for students who come there, as I did in 1946, to learn about the world, to enter a profession, and, if you will permit an old-fashioned expression, to make something of themselves."

A native Alabamian, Ed Wilson grew up along the Gulf Coast, schooling himself in natural history during solitary excursions into the woodlands near his home. He graduated in 1949 from Alabama, then took his doctorate from Harvard, where he remained to teach biology.

He has won two Pulitzer Prizes and is one of the founders of the science of sociobiology. His argument that social behaviors have genetic components has changed the study of human behavior and generated plenty of controversy. Wilson defies categorization. His specialty is the social life of ants, but his wider reputation comes from the grace and clarity of his writing about the human condition.

"I like to think of myself down deep as a Southern writer who got detoured into science. That’s how I most like to celebrate natural history and scientific discovery as a writer who wraps it all up."

In 1996, Time magazine included Wilson among its 25 Most Influential Americans. He has received numerous awards, including the National Medal of Science and 24 honorary degrees from universities in America and overseas.

He is the author or co-author of 23 books and 350 scholarly articles. His latest book, Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge, is an impassioned appeal for the union of science and the humanities.

His message is for a world "drowning in information, while starving for wisdom."