Professor is awarded Tyler Prize

By Marcelle Richards
Daily Bruin Senior Staff

While trekking the rain forests of New Guinea last month,
physiology Professor Jared Diamond received word he had won the
2001 John and Alice Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement.

In a region that gets up to 900 inches of rainfall annually,
news that he received the most coveted award in the fields of
environmental science, energy and medicine reached him via e-mail
as he sat beneath a tin roof, water pouring off the eaves.

On the other side of the world at USC on Thursday, Diamond and
fellow laureate Thomas Lovejoy brought anecdotes and statements to
the 28th-annual celebration of the prize.

Their work on conservation biology in New Guinea has earned them
a place among science’s elite, including the 13th U.S.
surgeon general and researchers of international stature.

“To join with so many illustrious figures is
special,” Lovejoy said, noting Diamond’s impact on his
own research. “Jared has been an amazing inspiration to many
people, including myself.”

Diamond and Lovejoy are the 48th and 49th laureates, chosen for
their contributions to the betterment of the environment and
society.

“I have faith that the ever-growing research by brilliant
world scientists will continue to alert us to the delicate balance
that sustains life,” read a statement from the late Alice
Tyler, former benefactor of medical research at the University of
California, on the Tyler Prize Web site. “And that we will
become more aware of the dire urgency to improve and maintain this
vital cycle for the preservation of our universe.”

Lovejoy, senior scientist at the Smithsonian Institution and
chief biodiversity advisor at the World Bank, is known as the man
who coined the term, “biodiversity.”

Through his work, the concept of
“debt-for-nature-swap” has helped reverse the problem
of rain forest destruction by allowing countries with foreign debt
to convert their debts into reserves and conservation programs.

Diamond’s research on bird diversity in New Guinea has
promoted species co-existence and has influenced several foreign
governments to conserve their biodiversity.

“There’s nothing like walking through the New Guinea
rain forest before dawn,” he said. “An unfortunate side
effect is that life in L.A. seems unreal to me. Emotionally,
I’m half New Guinean.”

When Diamond heard of several areas in danger of being
destroyed, he conducted surveys to protect the nature of the
Southeast Asian Islands.

Indonesian New Guinea adopted a national park system to protect
native species.

Nearby Soloman Islands, formed from beds of coral reef that have
been elevated 600 feet, were spared from bauxite mining.

While Diamond’s impacts have reached the corners of the
world, his motivation hits closer to home.

“I didn’t care less about 2050 until my boys were
born,” Diamond said in reference to his twin sons’
births in 1987. “I realized it’s not enough to work for
the individual future of my boys. I had to do something to shape
the world of my children.”

In addition to receiving the title of Tyler laureate, recipients
each received a gold medallion and $200,000.

The prize is made possible by endowments from the Alice Tyler
Charitable trust and the John Tyler trust.

“When I heard of the amount, I said, “˜that’s
the next two and a half New guinea trips,'” Diamond
said.