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| Prof. Francisco J. Ayala gives a lecture |
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| The lecture attracts a full-house audience |
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| UM’s Vice Rector Prof. Rui Martins presents the souvenir to Prof. Ayala |
Today (4 November) the University of Macau (UM) held a Doctor honoris causa Lecture Series, which was part of UM’s 30th anniversary Lecture Series. Renowned evolutionary geneticist and molecular biologist Prof. Francisco J. Ayala was the speaker, and his topic was “Science and Religion: Conflict or Concert?” More than six hundred people attended the lecture, including UM staff and students, members of UM’s University Assembly and University Council, representatives from local higher education institutions and secondary schools, community representatives, and representatives of scholarship sponsors.
At the lecture Prof. Ayala noted that today many religious denominations accept that biological evolution has produced the diversity of living things over billions of years of the Earth’s history, and that many have issued statements observing that evolution and the tenets of their faiths are compatible. Prof. Ayala also remarked that Scientists and theologians have written eloquently about their awe and wonder at the history of the universe and of life on this planet, explaining that they see no conflict between their faith in God and the evidence for evolution. Prof. Ayala discussed the overwhelming evidence in support of biological evolution and evaluated the alternative perspectives offered by advocates of various kinds of creationism. His conclusion was that science and religion should be viewed as different ways of understanding the world and that the evidence for evolution can be fully compatible with religious faith.
During the Q&A session, many people seized the opportunity to ask questions, and Prof. Ayala answered all the questions in detail.
Prof. Ayala is a renowned scientist committed to the studies of evolutional genetics and molecular biology. He is University Professor and Donald Bren Professor of Biological Sciences at the University of California, Irvine. He was a member of the U.S. President’s Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology, the president and chairman of the Board of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the president of Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society of the U.S. Prof. Ayala has published more than one thousand articles and is the author or editor of forty books. Prof. Ayala is a member of the United States National Academy of Science as well as the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He has received numerous honours, including the 2001 National Medal of Science from former U.S. President George W. Bush, the 2010 Templeton Prize for his exceptional contributions to affirming life’s spiritual dimension, from HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, at a private ceremony in Buckingham Palace, London.
