Professor to receive Nevada Medal for his work in science

Friday, Feb. 4, 2000 | 10:43 a.m.

Stanford University Professor Harold Mooney will receive the 2000 Nevada Medal for his work in analyzing how plants respond when they are moved across environmental barriers, Gov. Kenny Guinn announced Tuesday.

Mooney's studies of plants may help researchers figure out how to best breed food crops that thrive in harsh environments, Desert Research Institute President Stephen Wells said. The institute co-sponsors the Nevada medal awards with Nevada Bell. A $10,000 prize is included with the silver medal.

While a doctoral student at Duke University, Mooney studied under the late W. Dwight Billings -- recipient of the second Nevada Medal in 1989 and pioneer in plant ecology.

Guinn will present the medal to Mooney in Reno and Las Vegas on March 28 and 30. Mooney will present a lecture in each city titled "The End of Nature as We Knew It." While evolution allowed plants to develop diversity in specific places over time, the breakdown of natural barriers through commerce has moved them into foreign territory more rapidly, he said.

Transported plants in a new region invade native plant habitats and cause economic and ecological damage, Mooney added.