School of Science at TCNJ

Dr. George Coyne - "The Church's Most Recent Attempt to Dispel the Galileo Myth"

vanhise@tcnj.edu — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:04:13 EST

This September 4th, Dr. George Coyne will be visiting the TCNJ campus to give two talks. Dr. Coyne not only has his doctorate in astronomy, but was ordained a Roman Catholic priest in 1965. He was the director of the Vatican Observatory in Italy until 2006, when he retired, and still serves as a valuable part of the scientific community. It is an honor that he is coming to our campus, and there is no doubt that his presentations should not be missed.

The first will take place at 3:30 PM in the Music Concert Hall and is entitled "The Church's Most Recent Attempt to Dispel the Galileo Myth." This discussion will detail the 'Galileo Affair' and how the church reacted at the time and contrast that with how the churches opinions and outlooks had changed only 350 years later. Furthermore, he will not only present a judgment on the past, but extrapolate it to the present and use it to look on toward the future of the interaction between science and religion

The second talk will take place at 7:30 PM, again in the Music Concert Hall. This talk is entitled "Evolution and Intelligent Design: Who Needs God?" In this talk, Dr. Coyne will be discussing what science is, and has been since the time of Galileo. Furthermore, he will present what the boundaries of science are and what it can and cannot do. Finally, he will present a brief history of scientific methodology, and then demonstrate how Intelligent Design does not fit therein and as such, should not be considered science.

Aug 04 2008, 03:30 PM to Aug 04 2008, 04:30 PM
Location: Music Concert Hall
Sponsor: Astronomy Club
Email: altair@tcnj.edu

Dr. Michelle Bunagan Receives Camille and Henry Dreyfus Award

vanhise@tcnj.edu — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 20:06:13 EST

Dr. Michelle Bunagan, a new member of the Chemistry Department, has been named one of eight recipients of a Camille and Henry Dreyfus Faculty Start-up Award. This unrestricted five-year grant provides $30,000 assistance in the initiation of her research program at TCNJ.

Mathematics Students Receive Awards for Their Research and Presentations

vanhise@tcnj.edu — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 16:22:06 EST

Three TCNJ students gave presentations at the Mathematical Association of America summer meeting. Brendan Kelly, Vincent Martinez, and Sam Taylor all presented during student sessions of the conference in Madison, Wisconsin. Brendan Kelly was awarded the

Mentored Undergraduate Summer Experience Videos

vanhise@tcnj.edu — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 15:02:03 EST

The College of New Jersey's Mentored Undergraduate Summer Experience (MUSE) involved 69 students and 41 faculty from six academic Schools and 22 Departments/Programs, taking part in collaborative research and creative activities. The students worked with their faculty mentors in full-time scholarly activity for eight weeks

The School of Science Welcomes Four New Faculty

vanhise@tcnj.edu — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 17:21:37 EST

The School of Science welcomes three new members of the Chemistry Department faculty, Dr. Heba Abourahma, organic chemistry, Dr. Michelle Bunigan, physical chemistry, and Dr. Stephanie Sen, organic and biochemistry, and welcomes Dr. Nate Magee to the Physics Department. Each new professor brings experience and specialities that

$600,000 Grant Received to Support Students in Biology and Chemistry

vanhise@tcnj.edu — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 10:20:44 EST

The College of Jersey has received full funding ($600,000) from the National Science Foundation to support a program entitled “PERSIST in Biology and Chemistry (Program to Enhance Retention of Students in Science Trajectories).” Donald Lovett, professor of biology, is principal investigator on the grant and will direct the PERSIST program.

Chemistry Professor, Dr. Benny Chan, Receives Research Grant

vanhise@tcnj.edu — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 15:03:45 EST

Dr. Chan has been awarded a $50,000 grant, which will fund salaries and supplies for two years of an undergraduate research program in solid state chemistry and will lead to publications with undergraduate authors. The future of this work is to apply synthetic strategies to composition space that could have potential thermoelectric

Dr. Curt Elderkin Garners Grant for Endangered Species Research

vanhise@tcnj.edu — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 09:59:18 EST

Dr. Curt Elderkin of the Department of Biology has received a Pennsylvania State Wildlife Grant for conservation genetics research of fresh water mussels, the most endangered family of organisms in North America. The grant was made possible through the Pennsylvania Fishing and Boating commission.

Computer Science Dept Joins with Interactive Multimedia in Far Reaching Projects

vanhise@tcnj.edu — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 15:04:48 EST

The College of New Jersey was a striking presence at the New Media Consortium (NMC) Conference on June 11-14, 2008, with 26 student and faculty participants representing three schools and several departments.

Computer Science Majors Receive Funding for Research

vanhise@tcnj.edu — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 15:05:49 EST

Autumn Breese and Ruth Dannenfelser have received funding in the amount of $6,500 to work on the research project, COMTOR, Comment Mentor, with Dr. Peter DePasquale of the Department of Computer Science. Their proposal was judged to be among the best projects submitted to the Collaborative Research Experience for Undergraduates in

Dr. Hingston Speaks in Montreal

vanhise@tcnj.edu — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 10:14:57 EST

Dr. Nancy Hingston of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics gave a talk at the Clay Mathematics Institute in Montreal in June during a conference in honor of Raoul Bott.

School of Science Students Inducted into National Honor Societies

vanhise@tcnj.edu — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 10:16:23 EST

The School of Science congratulates our students inducted recently into Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi national honor societies.