Francisco J. Ayala

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Ayala and the second or maternal family name is Pereda.
Francisco J. Ayala
Born
Francisco José Ayala Pereda

(1934-03-12)March 12, 1934[3]
Madrid, Spain
DiedMarch 5, 2023(2023-03-05) (aged 88)
Newport Beach, California, U.S.
CitizenshipSpanish, American (1971–2023)
Alma materUniversity of Salamanca
Columbia University
Known forPopulation genetics
Spouses
  • Mary Henderson
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1968, divorced)​
  • Hana Lostokova
    ​
    (m. 1985)​
Children2
AwardsNational Medal of Science, Templeton Prize
Scientific career
FieldsBiology, Genetics
InstitutionsUniversity of California, Davis (1971–1989)[1]
University of California, Irvine (1989–2018)[2]
Doctoral advisorTheodosius Dobzhansky
Doctoral studentsJohn Avise

Francisco José Ayala Pereda (March 12, 1934 – March 3, 2023) was a Spanish-American evolutionary biologist and philosopher who was a longtime faculty member at the University of California, Irvine, and University of California, Davis.[4]

Ayala was previously president and chairman of the board of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.[5] At University of California, Irvine, his academic appointments included University Professor and Donald Bren Professor of Biological Sciences, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology (School of Biological Sciences), Professor of Philosophy (School of Humanities), and Professor of Logic and the Philosophy of Science (School of Social Sciences).[6]

Ayala's employment at UC Irvine ended in 2018 after the university issued a report relating to allegations of sexual harassment claims against him.[7] Ayala denied having "intentionally caused sexual harassment to anybody."[7] His name was removed from the School of Biological Sciences, the Science Library, as well as various graduate fellowships, scholarship programs, and endowed chairs.[8]

  1. ^ Ayala, Francisco J. (December 2009). "Francisco J. Ayala". Current Biology. 19 (23): R1060–R1061. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2009.09.033. S2CID 46117440.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference LAT2018 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Hall, Brian Keith; Strickberger, Monroe W.; Hallgrímsson, Benedikt (2008). Strickberger's evolution: the integration of genes, organisms and populations. Sudbury, Mass.: Jones and Bartlett. p. 633. ISBN 978-0-7637-0066-9.
  4. ^ Pinar García, Susana (2016). De Dios y ciencia. La evolución de Francisco J. Ayala. Madrid: Alianza Editorial. ISBN 9788491042358.
  5. ^ Dean, Cornelia (April 29, 2008). "Roving Defender of Evolution, and of Room for God". New York Times. Retrieved April 24, 2009.
  6. ^ "Biologist Francisco J. Ayala". The Scientist. February 5, 1996. Retrieved April 24, 2009.
  7. ^ a b Meredith Wadman (July 20, 2018). "Here's the sexual harassment report that felled a famed geneticist—and his defense". Science. AAAS.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference newname was invoked but never defined (see the help page).