If it’s the third Thursday the month, that means it’s time for our pal Margey and the monthly Fairfield County chapter meet-up.
It will be this Thursday, March 19, in Fairfield at the Beach Cafe at 7 pm. If you are interested in attending, please sign up through Drinking Skeptically Meet-up so she can get a head count.
This month should be another great meet-up, with an interesting special guest. According to Margey —
This month’s guest speaker is Dr. Charles Wynn who will discuss his upcoming book, And God Said, “Let there be evolution!”
Dr. Wynn’s latest project is his response to 9/11: a book titled And God said, Let there be Evolution!” Reconciling the Book of Genesis, the Qur’an and the Theory of Evolution. In it, a Jew, a Christian and a Muslim, each of whom is a member of their religious community as well as a member of the scientific community, explain why biology’s theory of evolution is worthy of acceptance, and, how they reconcile that theory with the sacred texts of their religions. This book is scheduled for publication in Fall 2009 by Kunati Publishers, Fore Word Magazine’s 2007 Independent Publisher of the Year.
And way more info than you wanted on him.
BIOGRAPHY
Charles M. Wynn, Sr., Professor of Chemistry, General Chemistry Coordinator and Assistant Physical Sciences Department Head at Eastern Connecticut State University, is a “Leading Educator of the World,” according to the Cambridge, England-based International Biographical Centre. Dr. Wynn was born in New York and educated at the Bronx High School of Science, City College of New York, and University of Michigan.
At the University of Michigan, he synthesized new organic compounds including potential anti-cancer drugs. After a yearlong appointment as Instructor of Chemistry at the university, his interest in international education was stimulated by service as a Peace Corps Volunteer at the Malayan Teachers College in Malaysia where he was Lecturer in Science Education and Consultant in Chemistry to the Southeast Asian Regional Centre for Education in Mathematics and Science. Since then, he has published articles about science and science education in the Journal of Organic Chemistry, Journal of Chemical Education, Journal of College Science Teaching, and Perspectives (The Journal of the Association for General and Liberal Studies) [all refereed journals] as well as the New England Association of Chemistry Teachers Journal, Connecticut Journal of Science Education, Michigan Science Teachers Association Bulletin and Junior College Journal. He has lectured about these subjects in Malaysia, China, Canada, Australia, England, Puerto Rico and Russia.
Dr. Wynn’s critically acclaimed science trilogy, The Five Biggest Ideas in Science (John Wiley & Sons; Barnes & Noble Special Edition) [listed as ONE OF THE TOP 10 BESTSELLERS IN THE SCIENCES in the UK], Quantum Leaps in the Wrong Direction: Where Real Science Ends and Pseudoscience Begins (Joseph Henry Press/National Academy Press) [named ONE OF THE TOP 15 NONFICTION BOOKS OF 2001 by NonfictionReviews.com], and The Five Biggest Unsolved Problems in Science (John Wiley & Sons; Scientific American Book Club) [offered to members of the Scientific American Book Club as a MAIN SELECTION in an exclusive hardcover format], has been translated into Russian, Italian, Portuguese, French, Korean, Chinese, Turkish, Indonesian, Polish and Japanese, is required reading in courses that include a Doctoral Seminar in Science Education, Intermediate Reading and Composition (English Department), Sociology of the Paranormal, History of Science, and Philosophy of Logic, and is the basis of three National Science Foundation Courses for College Teachers taught to over 100 science professors by Dr. Wynn.
One of Dr. Wynn’s other books, Laboratory Experiments for Chemistry: A Basic Introduction (Wadsworth), is in its fourth edition and been used by 120,000 students at over fifty colleges and universities nationwide. In 2007, his second collection of experiments for college students, Laboratory Experiments for General Chemistry, was published by Catalyst: The Prentice Hall Custom Laboratory Program for Chemistry, a subsidiary of Pearson Education.
Dr. Wynn was appointed Visiting Scholar in Science in Society at Wesleyan University in Connecticut and honored for his teaching and scholarship as the E.I. du Pont Outstanding Teaching Fellow at the University of Michigan, Outstanding Educator of America at Oakland Community College in Michigan, and Distinguished Faculty Member of the Year at Eastern Connecticut State University. He has been elected to membership in Tau Beta P1, the National Honor Society for Engineering, Phi Lambda Upsilon, the National Honor Society for Chemistry, and Sigma Xi, the National Honor Society for Scientific Research.
Should be an interesting evening. Hope to see you there!