Scientific and technological literacy has recently become a significant focus for the NAS and CCST. For CCST Fellow Francisco J. Ayala, it has been a focus for over twenty years.

Ayala, one of the nation's leading biologists and one of the original CCST Fellows, has long been active as a prominent proponent of scientific literacy. In 1981, Ayala and Harvard evolutionary biologist Stephen Jay Gould stirred national interest when they testified in the case of McLean vs. the Arkansas Board of Education, which involved the so-called "balanced-treatment" law that required teachers to devote as much time to creationism as evolution. Gould and Ayala challenged the scientific foundation of creationism; the law was ruled unconstitutional.

"Scientific literacy is necessary for the exercise of participatory democracy," Ayala said. "Science and technology pervade the world in which we live and will increasingly do so in the future. In addition to relying on expert advice, policy makers should be scientifically literate in order to interpret, evaluate and use this advice."

Ayala, whose genetic research on the origin of species has revolutionized evolutionary biology, is the Donald Bren professor of biological sciences, professor of philosophy and director of the Bren Fellows Program at the University of California, Irvine. He has pioneered the use of molecular biology methods in the investigation of evolutionary processes; his research has led to a new understanding of the origin of species, the pervasiveness of genetic diversity, and rates of evolution, among other concepts.

He has maintained a high national profile in recent years, appointed by President Clinton to the President's Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology and serving as President and Chairman of the Board of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He continues to participate and speak about issues concerning science and society, ethics and religion. "Information about technological and scientific matters is required for an increasingly large proportion of the decisions made at the highest level of government," Ayala said. "How to decide between the development of fuel-fired, hydrologic, or nuclear sources of energy; how to protect and improve the water supply; whether stem cell research should be regulated: these are among the numerous political decisions that cannot wisely be made without scientific and technological knowledge."

Ayala's notable career was nationally recognized on June 13, 2002 when he received the National Medal of Science from President George W. Bush at a White House ceremony. Ayala is the ninth CCST Fellow to receive the award, which is the highest scientific honor in the United States.

His ongoing dedication to scientific literacy is one of the reasons he is involved with CCST. "CCST can play an important positive role in informing public policy," he said. "CCST's achievements are already substantial, but much, much more remains to be done."