Biology Prof. Harold Mooney was recently awarded the 2008 Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement due to his work on evolution theory.

The prize, which includes $200,000 and gold medals, will be split with Environmental Engineering Professor James Galloway of University of Virginia.

“Mooney provided key evidence for the theory of convergent evolution,” said Robert Simoni, chair of the biology department, to the Palo Alto News. “[It] holds that different species in widely separated ecosystems, but with similar climates, all tend to evolve toward similar endpoints.”

The late John and Alice Tyler established the award in 1973.