JSPS - International Prize for Biology

The International Prize for Biology was instituted in April of 1985 by the Committee on the International Prize for Biology to commemorate the sixty-year reign of Emperor Showa and his longtime devotion to biological research.　To commemorate the 25th anniversary of the institution of the Prize next year, it has been decided to also offer tribute to the present Emperor His Majesty Emperor Akihito, who has strived over many years to advance the study taxonomy of gobioid fishes while contributing continuously to the developing of this Prize. The Prize is awarded each year to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the advancement of basic research in a field of biology. The Prize, comprising a medal and a prize of ten million yen, is awarded to the selected recipient, along with an Imperial gift from His Majesty the Emperor.

The Committee on the International Prize for Biology (chaired by Dr. Takashi Sugimura, Secretary General, The Japan Academy) of Japan Society for the Promotion of Science decided to present the 24rd (2008) International Prize for Biology to Dr. George David Tilman, Regents Professor of University of Minnesota, U.S.A.
Dr. Tilman was born in the United States, 1949. He studied ecology at University of Michigan, obtaining his doctorate in 1976. He has since led a highly productive career in ecological research at the University of Minnesota, where he is currently Regents' Professor, McKnight Presidential Chair in Ecology, and is Director of the University's Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve.
The field of specialization for the 24rd Prize is "Ecology". Dr. Tilman has been a major influence in ecology and related fields thanks to the singularly outstanding work he has done, both in terms of theory and in long-term field experiments, on the formation and conservation mechanisms of earth's biodiversity and the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning and stability.