Francisco J. Ayala

Francisco J. Ayala
Born
Francisco José Ayala Pereda

(1934-03-12)March 12, 1934[3]
DiedMarch 5, 2023(2023-03-05) (aged 88)
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).