Frank Donald Drake was an American astronomer and astrophysicist. He was most notable as one of the pioneers in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, and the founder of SETI. He was Emeritus Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of California, Santa Cruz where he also served as Dean of Natural Sciences (1984–88). He…
Dr. Owen Gingerich is Professor Emeritus of Astronomy and History of Science at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. In addition to his research and teaching, he has written many books on the history of astronomy. Gingerich is also a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, and the International…
Hubert Lederer Dreyfus is an American philosopher. He is a professor of philosophy at the University of California, Berkeley researching phenomenology, existentialism and the philosophy of psychology and literature. Dreyfus is known for his exegesis of Martin Heidegger, which critics labeled “Dreydegger”. Many of his students have gone to do work on themes related to…
John Harwood Hick was a philosopher of religion and theologian. In philosophical theology, he made contributions in the areas of theodicy, eschatology, and Christology, and in the philosophy of religion he contributed to the areas of epistemology of religion and religious pluralism. Hick initially pursued a law degree at the University of Hull, but converted…
Rebecca Newberger Goldstein is an American novelist and Professor of Philosophy. She has written five novels, a number of short stories and essays, and biographical studies of mathematician Kurt Gödel and philosopher Baruch Spinoza. Goldstein graduated summa cum laude from Barnard College, receiving the Montague Prize for Excellence in Philosophy, and earned her PhD from…
Freeman John Dyson was a British-born American theoretical physicist and mathematician, famous for his work in quantum electrodynamics, solid-state physics, astronomy and nuclear engineering. Dyson was a member of the Board of Sponsors of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists and lived in Princeton, New Jersey, for over fifty years. Dyson was also a member…
John Richard Gott III is a Professor of Astrophysical Sciences at Princeton University who is noted for his contributions to cosmology and general relativity. During his high school years, he won several science fair awards, including the prestigious Westinghouse Talent Search. Twenty years later, he became the chairman of the Judges of this same competition.…
George Francis Rayner Ellis is the Emeritus Distinguished Professor of Complex Systems in the Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. He co-authored The Large Scale Structure of Space-Time with University of Cambridge physicist Stephen Hawking, published in 1973, and is considered one of the world’s leading…
William John Grassie is an American interdisciplinary scholar, social activist, and organizational consultant. He received his doctorate in comparative religion from Temple University and his BA in political science from Middlebury College. Grassie has taught in a variety of positions at Temple University, Swarthmore College, and the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to graduate school, Grassie…
Susan Adele Greenfield is a British scientist, writer, broadcaster, and member of the House of Lords. Greenfield, whose specialty is the physiology of the brain, has worked to research and bring attention to Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease. Greenfield is Professor of Synaptic Pharmacology at Lincoln College, Oxford. On 1 February 2006, she was installed…
Daniel Clement Dennett III was an American philosopher, writer, and cognitive scientist. He was most recently Professor Emeritus at Tufts University. Dennett was a firm atheist and secularist, a member of the Secular Coalition for America advisory board, as well as an outspoken supporter of the Brights movement. Dennett was referred to as one of…
Alison Gopnik is an American Professor of Psychology and Affiliate Professor of Philosophy at the University of California, Berkeley. She is known for her work in the areas of cognitive and language development, specializing in the effect of language on thought, the development of a theory of mind, and causal learning. Gopnik received her BA…