McPhee to get science medal

By: David Campbell
   Pulitzer Prize-winning writer John McPhee will receive The Academy of Natural Sciences Gold Medal, the institution’s highest honor, for his efforts to enhance public understanding of the natural world, the academy has announced.
   At a Dec. 1 ceremony in Philadelphia, academy President and CEO D. James Baker will present Mr. McPhee with the Gold Medal for "artistic endeavors and life’s work that have contributed to mankind’s better understanding and appreciation of the natural world," the academy said.
   Past recipients of the award, which was established in 1980, include ornithologist Roger Tory Peterson and photographer Ansel Adams.
   The event, to be held at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, is free and open to the public.
   It will begin with a reception and book signing at 5 p.m., followed by the award presentation at 6 p.m. Mr. McPhee then will speak about his career and read excerpts from his works.
   Mr. McPhee is Ferris Professor of Journalism at Princeton University and a university graduate. His book, "Annals of the Former World," a 20-year undertaking to tell the geological story of North America, was awarded the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for general nonfiction.
   The event is sponsored by the academy’s Town Square Program, made possible by the Richard Lounsbery Foundation and the Environmental Associates of The Academy of Natural Sciences.
   For free reservations, contact Roland Wall at (215) 299-1108.