Gregor Mendel, an Augustinian friar, discovered the celebrated laws of heredity.
In 2008, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences celebrates the 80th anniversary
of the Mendel Medal with a year-long celebration devoted to Mendel’s lasting impact
on scientific discovery and exploration, the concept of sustainability, and an in-depth
look at Mendel himself, the man known widely as the Father of Modern Genetics, a
revolutionary himself, an Augustinian friar, naturalist, and botanist who undertook
experiments in the 19th century that have helped shape the world’s collective understanding
of genes, crossbreeding, and hereditary. He is the namesake of the state-of-the-art
Mendel Science Center on campus, and his legacy remains a vital part of contemporary
study of the natural and physical sciences at the University.
The Mendel Medal was established in honor of Gregor Johann Mendel Abbot of the
Augustinian Monastery, Brünn, Austria, (now Brno, the Czech Republic), who discovered
the celebrated laws of heredity, which now bear his name. The medal is awarded to
outstanding scientists who have done much by their painstaking work to advance the
cause of science, and, by their lives and their standing before the world as scientists,
have demonstrated that between true science and true religion there is no intrinsic
conflict.
Established in 1928 by the Board of Trustees of Villanova University to recognize
scientific accomplishment and religious conviction, the medal is one of the highest
awards the University bestows and was given annually until 1943. Between 1946 and
1968, the medal was awarded eight times. After a hiatus of 25 years, it was reestablished
in 1992 as part of the University’s sesquicentennial celebrations. Past recipients
have included Nobel Laureates; outstanding medical researchers; pioneers in physics,
astrophysics and chemistry; and noted scientist-theologians.
This year, the University will honor the Rev. George V. Coyne, S.J., Ph.D., an astronomer and former director of the Vatican Observatory and head of the observatory’s research group, which is based at the University of Arizona in Tucson, with the Mendel Medal at the annual ceremony to take place at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia on Sept. 6, 2008. The event coincides with the traveling exhibition, “Gregor Mendel: Planting the Seeds of Genetics,” whose Philadelphia tour is co-sponsored by the Academy and Villanova.
From May 24 to Sept. 28, 2008, the exhibition will visit the Academy, one of only four national tour venues to host it. The College is a proud co-sponsor of this exhibit, which promises to introduce and explore Mendel’s life and work in a compelling and interactive way to all visitors to the Academy. For some, this will be their first time encountering Mendel and his pioneering research; for others, this will be an ideal time to delve even deeper into the life and work of this well-known scientist.
