Masatoshi Nei, professor of biology and director of the Institute of Molecular Evolutionary Genetics, left his native Japan in 1969 to conduct research in the United States. Not forgotten by his homeland, the Japan Society for the Promotion of Sciences (JSPS) awarded Nei with its international prize for biology in December.

The ceremony, which took place in Tokyo, brought together ranking Japanese government officials and world-renowned scientists, and included an address by Japan's Emperor Akihito, who praised Nei for his achievements.

"It was one of the most memorable events of my life," Nei said.

JSPS, a government organization under the authority of Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, picked Nei from a list of 37 other scientists who specialized in this year's chosen category, the biology of evolution.

The choice is not surprising to Hiroshi Akashi, an assistant professor of biology in the Eberly College of Science, who said that Nei is a pioneer in his field.

"His books and papers are landmarks and have had enormous impact," Akashi said.

The main thrust of Nei's work has been to derive mathematical and statistical models for determining genetic differences among separate forms of life, and also determining when these changes took place, something known as Nei's genetic distance.

Charles Aquadro, professor of population genetics at Cornell University, said Nei's findings are fundamental to the study of evolution.

"All organisms are connected through their genes, and Dr. Nei has been seminal in discovering the relationships among the different organisms," Aquadro said.

Among other things, Nei gave direct evidence to support the claim that modern man initially emerged out of Africa and only later migrated to Asia, Europe and eventually the Americas.

"Not too many people believed me," Nei said, referring to the initial skepticism of his colleagues. "I was pretty sure I was right, though."

Nei said he has always been curious and that led him to study population genetics and later evolution at the molecular level.

His curiosity has not always been fruitful, however.

At the age of 14, he lost sight in his left eye after playing around with an explosive dropped by a United States bomber.

He never thought he would come to the country that contributed to the loss of half his vision, but as a graduate student and doctoral candidate in Japan, which at the time was experiencing a poor economy, he felt his research was too restricted. He took a position at Brown University and later at the University of Texas at Houston, eventually coming to Penn State in 1990.

Although he has been in the United States for over three decades, Nei remains closer to contemporary Japanese sentiments concerning science, where original research has blossomed as a result of the strong economy.

Gregory Smits, associate professor of East Asian history at Penn State, said the common perception of science in Japan is much different, on average, than it is here.

"There isn't any conflict of religion and science," Smits said. "The average Japanese citizen wouldn't be able to understand the debate on creation verses evolution in the schools."

Nei stressed his non-religious approach to science.

"As a scientist I want to be objective," Nei said. "The most important questions are the origin of life and the workings of the brain, and at this stage we should try to understand things without using God."