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Professor Leigh Simmons, a leading evolutionary biologist at The University of Western Australia, will this week receive a Certificate of Distinction at the opening ceremony of the 23rd International Congress of Entomology in Durban, South Africa.

Professor Simmons, from UWA's School of Animal Biology, will receive the award this Sunday, July 6 in front of 3000 entomologists from round the world.  His life's work has revolved around exploring sexual selection and the evolution of mating systems and while he mainly focuses on insects, most recently he has turned his attention to humans.

Winner of the UK's 1998 Scientific Medal of the Zoological Society of London, Professor Simmons is an ARC Federation Fellow with the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences and is Director of the West Australian Centre for Evolutionary Biology at UWA.

The Certificates of Distinction are recognition by the International Congresses of Entomology and its council of exemplary achievement in entomology.  In order to meet the selection criteria, entomologists must demonstrate contributions to fundamental knowledge, to industry or the community, contributions to teaching, training, extension or popularising entomology or contributions to the quality of life.

Since the international congress began awarding the Certificates of Distinction in 1996, only 11 of these awards have been made at four congresses including the forthcoming Congress in Durban.

Professor Simmons said his work was also directly relevant to human reproduction, conservation programs and mass-rearing insects.

"My contribution to these wider implications of this field are demonstrated through my work on the importance of face characteristics in human mating decisions, and work showing that men adjust the quality of their semen to promote fertilisation success in accordance with sperm competition theory," he said.

Media references

Professor Leigh Simmons (+61 8)  6488 2221
Janine MacDonald (UWA Public Affairs)  (+61 8)  6488 5563  /  (+61 4) 32 637 716