William Provine, professor of the history of biology in the Departments of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and of History, will be awarded the first David L. Hull Prize by the International Society for History, Philosophy and Social Studies of Biology for his "extraordinary contributions to scholarship and service in ways that promote interdisciplinary connections between history, philosophy, social studies and biology, and that foster the careers of younger scholars."

The prize will be presented at the society's 2011 biennial meeting in Salt Lake City, July 10-15. The biennial award is in honor of David L. Hull (1935-2010), a renowned philosopher of biology.

"It is entirely fitting that the we honor David Hull by recognizing Will Provine, whose teaching, mentoring, research and engagement have won admiration and respect among biologists, historians, philosophers and social scientists who study biology," according to the award citation letter.

Provine, the Andrew H. and James L. Tisch Distinguished University Professor at Cornell, is an expert on the history of evolution and genetics and has published many seminal books in his field. He joined Cornell as assistant professor of history in 1969, while receiving his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1970.

He is also a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and has held a Guggenheim fellowship. In 1988, he won Cornell's Clark Distinguished Teaching Award.