Francisco Ayala
Francisco Ayala is a philosopher and biologist at the University of California, Irvine, and a former Dominican priest. He is a popular author and lecturer on the compatibility of science and religion. Ayala’s Darwin’s Gift to Science and Religion, argues that evolution provides both a clear understanding of the nature of the physical world and an explanation for its flaws without placing the blame on God. With 950 publications and 30 books, Ayala is a prolific writer and public critic of intelligent design theory, addressing it in his book Darwin and Intelligent Design. Known for his research on population and evolution genetics, Ayala is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society. He has received numerous awards and honors, including a National Medal of Science, the highest honor given by the government to scientists, and the 2010 Templeton Prize.