Past Lectures
Walter Thorson
On November 7–8, 2012, Walter Thorson spoke on the topic of Intelligent design and naturalism in biological science. Following each lecture, experts in the fields of science and religion commented on Dr. Thorson's remarks. The first lecture was entitled "'First Day' Things: Naturalism in the Physical Sciences", the second "Intelligent Design: Contemporary Culture and Evangelical Sub-Culture" and the third, "Unresolved Issues: Biological Complexity and Biological Function.
For vidoes of the lectures click here.
After receiving a B.S. in Chemistry and Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from the California Institute of Technology, Dr. Walter R. Thorson moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts where, for two years, he was a research fellow at the National Science Foundation at Harvard University. Following his time at Harvard, Thorson began his teaching career, first as an instructor of Chemistry at Tufts University and then at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as an associate professor of chemistry. He spent the next twenty-six years at the University of Alberta as a professor of Theoretical Chemistry and twenty-five years as adjunct professor of the philosophy of science at Regent College in Vancouver.
During his distinguished career, Thorson has published numerous articles in prestigious scientific journals, including the Journal of Chemical Physics, the Journal of Molecular Spectroscopy and the Canadian Journal of Physics and has been a part of the American Scientific Affiliation (ASA) for more than 50 years. He was elected a Fellow of the ASA and CSCA (Canadian American Scientific Affiliation) in the 1990’s.
In addition to his scholarly pursuits, Thorson is a committed, evangelical Christian and has published numerous articles on topics relating to issues in theology, science and faith, many of which appeared in Perspectives on Science and the Christian Faith (PSCF). He was a visiting scholar at the Center of Theological Inquiry in Princeton, New Jersey and has written extensively on issues relating to the “Intelligent Design” hypothesis.
Walter and Mary, his wife of 49 years, currently reside in Calgary, Alberta, Canada and are the proud parents of two children and four grandchildren.