Wallace Arthur (born 30 March 1952) is an
evolutionary biologist and science writer. He is Emeritus Professor of
Zoology at the
University of Galway. His most recent book is ''Understanding Life in the Universe'', published by
Cambridge University Press, which focuses on the likely extent (how many planets?) and nature (how much like us?) of extraterrestrial life. He was one of the founding editors of the journal
Evolution & Development
''Evolution & Development'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal publishing material at the interface of evolutionary and developmental biology. Within evolutionary developmental biology, it has the aim of aiding a broader synthesis of biologi ...
, serving as an editor for nearly 20 years.
He has held visiting positions at
Harvard University,
Darwin College Cambridge, and the
University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn
The University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn was established on 1 September 1999, in accordance with the new Statute of Sejm signed by Polish President Aleksander Kwaśniewski, as well as Minister of Education Mirosław Handke, in August of th ...
, Poland.
Early life and education
Wallace Arthur was born in
Belfast,
Northern Ireland, in 1952. He attended
Friends School Lisburn
Friends' School, Lisburn is a Quaker voluntary grammar school in the city of Lisburn, Northern Ireland, founded in 1774.
History
Friends’ School Lisburn was founded – as The Ulster Provincial School – on the basis of a bequest in 1764 of ...
and
Campbell College Belfast. He received a BSc in biology from the
University of Ulster in 1973 and a PhD in evolutionary biology from the
University of Nottingham in 1977.
Scientific work
Arthur describes himself as "a bit of a maverick" who likes "making connections across disciplinary boundaries".
His early work was at the interface between evolution and
ecology, his later work at the interface between evolution and
development, or
‘evo-devo’. His main contributions have been on the origin of animal
body plans, the role of developmental bias in evolution, and the evolution of
arthropod segmentation. His most recent book explores the interface between biology and astronomy, with two key themes: the likelihood of life having evolved on multiple
exoplanet
An exoplanet or extrasolar planet is a planet outside the Solar System. The first possible evidence of an exoplanet was noted in 1917 but was not recognized as such. The first confirmation of detection occurred in 1992. A different planet, init ...
s, and the nature of that life being probably not too different to life on Earth.
Arthur is a proponent of a more comprehensive evolutionary synthesis that takes into account progress in the field of evo-devo.
[Sommer, Ralf J. (2004)]
''Beyond Darwin – towards an inclusive evolutionary synthesis''
'' Development'' 131: 5769-5770.
Books
* ''Mechanisms of Morphological Evolution'': 1984, Wiley
* ''Theories of Life: Darwin, Mendel and Beyond'': 1987, Penguin
* ''The Niche in Competition and Evolution'': 1987, Wiley
* ''A Theory of the Evolution of Development'': 1988, Wiley
* ''The Green Machine: Ecology and the Balance of Nature'': 1990, Blackwell
* ''The Origin of Animal Body Plans'': 1997, Cambridge University Press
* ''Biased Embryos and Evolution'': 2004, Cambridge University Press
* ''Creatures of Accident: The Rise of the Animal Kingdom'': 2006, Hill & Wang (Farrar, Straus & Giroux)
* ''Evolution: A Developmental Approach'': 2011, Wiley-Blackwell
* ''Evolving Animals'': 2014, Cambridge University Press
*
Life through Time and Space': 2017, Harvard University Press
*
The Biological Universe: Life in the Milky Way and Beyond': 2020, Cambridge University Press
* ''Understanding Evo-Devo'': 2021, Cambridge University Press
* ''Understanding Life in the Universe'': 2023, Cambridge University Press
Notes
External links
Staff page at NUI Galway
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arthur, Wallace
1952 births
Living people
20th-century Irish scientists
21st-century Irish scientists
Evolutionary biologists
Extended evolutionary synthesis
Irish geneticists
People educated at Friends' School, Lisburn
Scientists from Belfast