Sean Carroll

Geneticist Sean Carroll is the acknowledged leader of the exciting new biological field known as Evo Devo, representing the third revolution in evolutionary biology. The first was marked by the publication of Darwin's The Origin of Species. The second occurred in the early 20th century, when Darwin's theories were merged with the study of genetics. Now the insights of Evo Devo are astonishing the biology world by showing how a single cell grows into a complex organism.

Carroll's most recent book, Remarkable Creatures: Epic Adventures in the Search for the Origins of Species, was a finalist for the National Book Award. It is an account of some of the most dramatic adventures and important discoveries in two centuries of biological exploration—from the epic journeys of pioneering naturalists to the expeditions making headlines today—and how they gave birth to and nourished the science of evolution.

His groundbreaking book Endless Forms Most Beautiful was published in 2005 to rave reviews ("Carroll emerges as the new, user-friendly public face of evolutionary science in the process" –US News & World Report), and his book Making of the Fittest (winner of the 2007 Phi Beta Kappa Science Book Award) enhanced his reputation as one of our most exciting scientists.

A charismatic speaker, Carroll is Professor of Molecular Biology and Genetics at the University of Wisconsin. He is the vice president for science education at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He has received the National Science Foundation Presidential Young Investigator Award, the Shaw Scientist Award of the Milwaukee Foundation, and numerous honorary lectureships. Carroll was named one of America's most promising leaders under 40 by TIME magazine in 1994. In March, he received the 2010 Stephen Jay Gould Prize for his efforts to advance the public understanding of evolutionary science.

Carroll has spent his career studying the genetic components of evolution and development, identifying the molecular mechanisms that lead to new traits and species. His research focuses on the way new animal forms have evolved. His knack for communicating complex ideas to the public in an entertaining and understandable manner is reflected in his monthly column in The New York Times and his service as a consulting producer for the Public Broadcasting television program NOVA.

What Carroll presents is a thrilling view of the history of life that vehemently argues for both the truth and beauty of evolution. In updating Darwin's work with recent discoveries in genetics—for example, that a small number of primitive genes led to the creation of fundamental organs and appendages in all animal forms—Carroll provides a forceful rebuttal to "Intelligent Design" theorists and other detractors. Says Michael Ruse, author of The Evolution-Creation Struggle, of Carroll, "Of all the scientists in the world today, there is no one with whom Charles Darwin would rather spend an evening."