Henry F. Schaefer, III

Infobox_Scientist
name = Henry F. Schaefer

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caption = Fritz Schaefer
birth_date = June 8, 1944
birth_place = Grand Rapids, Michigan,United States
death_date =
death_place =
residence = United States
nationality = American
field = Computational chemistry
work_institution = University of Georgia
alma_mater = Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University
doctoral_advisor =
doctoral_students =
known_for =
prizes =
religion = Christian
footnotes =

Henry "Fritz" Schaefer III (born June 8, 1944) is a computational and theoretical chemist. He is the author of a large number of scientific publications, and was the 6th most cited chemist from 1981 to 1997 cite web |url=http://www.iaqms.org/members/IAQMS.member.Schaefer.html |title=HENRY F. SCHAEFER III |work=IAQMS member biographies |publisher=International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science |accessdate=2008-02-12] and the Graham Perdue Professor of Chemistry and Director of the Center for Computational Chemistry at the University of Georgia.cite web |url=http://www.ccc.uga.edu/members.php |title=Center for Computational Chemistry Group Members |work=Center for Computational Chemistry |publisher=University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia |accessdate=2008-02-12] Schaefer is also a prominent proponent of intelligent design. He is a Fellow of the Discovery Institute's Center for Science and Culture,cite web |url=http://www.discovery.org/csc/fellows.php |title=CSC Fellows |publisher=Center for Science and Culture |accessdate=2008-02-12] the hub of the intelligent design movement, and the International Society for Complexity, Information and Design,cite web |url=http://www.iscid.org/fellows.php |title=Society Fellows |publisher=International Society for Complexity, Information and Design |accessdate=2008-02-12] and a signer of the Discovery Institute's anti-evolution letter, A Scientific Dissent From Darwinism.cite web |url=http://www.discovery.org/articleFiles/PDFs/100ScientistsAd.pdf |title=A Scientific Dissent From Darwinism |publisher=Discovery Institute |format=pdf |accessdate=2008-02-12]

Biography

Early life and education

He was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and was educated in Syracuse, New York; Menlo Park, California; and East Grand Rapids, Michigan. He was awarded a B.S. degree in chemical physics by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1966 and a Ph.D. degree in chemical physics from Stanford University in 1969. He was professor of chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley from 1969 to 1987. In 1979-1980 he was Wilfred T. Doherty Professor of Chemistry and inaugural Director of the Institute for Theoretical Chemistry at the University of Texas, Austin. In 1987 he moved to the University of Georgia, where he is Graham Perdue Professor of Chemistry and Director of the Center for Computational Chemistry. He is a member of the International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science. In 2004 he became Professor of Chemistry, Emeritus, at UC Berkeley. His other academic appointments include Professeur d'Echange at the University of Paris (1977), Gastprofessur at the Eidgenossische Technische Hochshule (ETH), Zurich (1994, 1995, 1997, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006), and David P. Craig Visiting Professor at the Australian National University (1999). He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences [cite web |url=http://www.uga.edu/news-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi?archive=7&num=1468&printer=1 |title=UGA chemistry professor Henry F. Schaefer III named Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences |work=Public Affairs News Bureau |publisher=University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia |date=May 5, 2004 |accessdate=2008-02-12] in 2004 and became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (London) in 2005.

Research and books

Research within the Schaefer group involves the use of computational hardware and theoretical methods to solve problems in molecular quantum mechanics. His contributions to the field of quantum chemistry include a paper challenging, on theoretical grounds, the geometry of triplet methylene as assigned by Nobel Prize-winning experimentalist Gerhard Herzberg; the development of the Z-vector method simplifying certain calculations of correlated systems; and a wide body of work undertaken in his research group on the geometries, properties, and reactions of chemical systems using highly accurate "ab initio" quantum chemical techniques. Many of these papers have predicted, or forced a reinterpretation of, experimental results. He is the author of more than a thousand scientific publications, the majority appearing in the Journal of Chemical Physics or the Journal of the American Chemical Society. [Journal of Physical Chemistry, A, Volume 108, No. 15, (2004), pg 2818 - 2840, List of publications of Fritz Schaefer, 1020 are listed to 2004. ] He was awarded the American Chemical Society Award in Pure Chemistry in 1979 "for the development of computational quantum chemistry into a reliable quantitative field of chemistry and for prolific exemplary calculations of broad chemical interest". [ [http://www.chemistry.org/portal/a/c/s/1/acsdisplay.html?DOC=awardspure.html ACS Pure Chemistry award] ] In 1983 he received the Leo Hendrik Baekeland award for the most distinguished North American chemist under the age of 40. In 1992, he was awarded the Centenary Medal of the Royal Society of Chemistry, London, with a citation that included "the first theoretical chemist successfully to challenge the accepted conclusion of a distinguished experimental group for a polyatomic molecule, namely methylene." [Journal of Physical Chemistry A, Volume 108, (2004), pg 2805 - 2807, "Biography of Fritz Schaefer", C. E. Dykstra, B. J. Garrison, G. E. Scuseria and D. R. Yarkony. ]

He is also an active Protestant Christian educator who regularly speaks to university audiences (over 200 to date), Christian groups and the public on science/faith issues.cite book|title=Science and Christianity: Conflict or Coherence? |last=Schaefer |first=Henry F. |authorlink=Henry F. Schaefer, III |year=2003 |publisher=The Apollos Trust | isbn=097429750X. An expanded fifth printing appeared in 2008] In 2003, he published "Science and Christianity: Conflict or Coherence?", a collection of essays and talks on the subject. He is a member of the Christian Faculty Forum at University of Georgia. [ [http://www.uga.edu/cff/ University of Georgia Christian Faculty Forum] ]

Controversy

On January 25. 2008, he presented a lecture titled 'Big Bang, Stephen Hawking and God' [ [http://www.westminsterhall.us/hfs3/fs_bb_hawk.html Westminster Hall Scholar Series Lecture] ] at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay. The lecture implied the futility of religions other than Christianity as a way to God, and promoted Intelligent Design. This evoked a response [ [http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1147616 Newspaper: DNA] ] [ [http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOI&BaseHref=TOIM/2008/01/26&PageLabel=6&EntityId=Ar00602&ViewMode=HTML&GZ=T Newspaper: Times of India] ] from secular students in the form of handbills [ [http://homepages.iitb.ac.in/~atheist/schaefer/flyer.htm Dr. Nikhil Joshi's handbill objecting Prof. Schaefer's arguments] ] distributed to the audience of more than 500 student and professors. The handbills described his speech unscientific and therefore out-of-context for the largest technology festival of Asia: Techfest 2008.

Schaefer is often cited as an example of the Discovery Institute inflating the academic credentials and affiliations of prominent intelligent design advocates. The institute prominently and frequently mentions the Nobel Prize in connection with Schaefer, [ [http://www.discovery.org/csc/texas/docs/IDQA.6.04.doc Questions and Answers about Intelligent Design] Discovery Institute. (Word file)] [ [http://www.reviewevolution.com/press/pressRelease_100Scientists.php 100 Scientists, National Poll Challenge Darwinism] Discovery Institute.] referring to him as a "five-time nominee for the Nobel Prize" despite the fact that Nobel Prize nominations remain confidential for fifty years. Intelligent Design critic Barbara Forrest, Glenn Branch and Reed Cartwright allege that in elevating mere speculation to a fact, the Discovery Institute is inflating his reputation. [ [http://www.aaup.org/AAUP/pubsres/academe/2005/JF/Feat/forr.htm Wedging Creationism into the Academy] Barbara Forrest, Glenn Branch. "Academe", American Association of University Professors. 2005.] [ [http://www.pandasthumb.org/archives/2004/05/religiously_mot.html Religiously Motivated Incredulity] Reed A. Cartwright. The Panda's Thumb, May 3 2004 ] The original source of the estimate that Schaefer has been nominated 5 times for a Nobel Prize is a December 23, 1991 cover article in U.S. News and World Report. [Jeffery L. Sheler and Joannie M. Schrof. 1991. "The Creation" U.S. News and World Report, Dec. 23, 1991, pp. 56-64]

Publications, books, lectures

*"Science and Christianity : Conflict or Coherence?"
*"Scientists and Their Gods"

References

External links

* [http://www.ccc.uga.edu The Schaefer Group Page]
* [http://www.chem.uga.edu/DoC/ResFacHFS.html Henry F. Schaefer, PhD: UGa]
* [http://www.iaqms.org/members/IAQMS.member.Schaefer.html HENRY F. SCHAEFER III: IAQMS]
* [http://www.discovery.org/scripts/viewDB/index.php?command=view&isFellow=true&id=94 Henry Schaefer, Fellow-CSC: Discovery Institute]
* [http://www.leaderu.com/offices/schaefer/index.html Dr. Henry F. "Fritz" Schaefer, III: Leadership U]
* [http://www.leaderu.com/offices/schaefer/lectures.html Public Lectures by Henry F. Schaefer III]
* [http://www.westminsterhall.us/hfs3/ Public Lectures by Henry F. Schaefer III]

Persondata
NAME= Schaefer, Henry F. III
ALTERNATIVE NAMES= Fritz Schaefer
SHORT DESCRIPTION=
DATE OF BIRTH= June 8, 1944
PLACE OF BIRTH= Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=