He is a professor of biological sciences at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania and a senior member of the Center for Science and Culture at the US think-tank Discovery Institute. He received his PhD in biochemistry in 1978 from the University of Pennsylvania.
His current research focuses on the distinction between design and natural selection in protein structures. Behe is the author of more than forty scientific articles and four books, including Darwin's Black Box, The Edge of Evolution and Devolution, in which he shows that the origin of living organisms at the molecular level is best explained by reference to intelligent design. Behe's books have received reviews in the New York Times, Nature, Philosophy of Science and other leading journals. Darwin's Black Box has sold more than 250,000 copies and received more than a hundred reviews worldwide. Both National Review and World Magazine named it one of the 100 most important books of the twentieth century. Behe has given occasional lectures and participated in debates at many of the leading universities in North America and the UK.
He is an evolutionary biologist specialising in the study of the relationship of genes to morphological homology, as well as the nature of information contained in genomes. He holds a PhD in molecular biology from Florida International University, and a PhD in systems theory (theoretical biology) from Binghamton University.
From 2001 to 2007, he worked at the National Center for Biotechnology Information and as a research assistant at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. He currently works at the Biologic Institute, sponsored by the Discovery Institute, and is a fellow at the National Museum of Natural History. From 2001-2004, he was editor-in-chief of the Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington and co-editor of the International Journal of General Systems. In 1999 he was a guest lecturer at Northern Michigan University and from 1999 to 2001 he held a postdoctoral scholarship in the Department of Invertebrate Zoology at the National Museum of Natural History.
He was the recipient of postdoctoral scholarships from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Museum of Natural History. He has published peer-reviewed articles in journals such as Genetica, Evolutionary Theory, Journal of Comparative Biology, Crustacean Research, Journal of Natural History, Journal of Morphology, Journal of Biological Systems, and the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences.
Born in 1963, he is a German palaeontologist, a senior member of the Centre for Science and Culture at the Discovery Institute, a research fellow at the Biologic Institute based in Redmond (USA) and director of the Zentrum für BioKomplexität & NaturTeleologie.
His research focuses on the fossil record of insects (he is a world leader in research on fossil dragonflies), discontinuities in the history of life and the problem of the passage of time in evolution. He received his MSc and then PhD (summa cum laude) in earth sciences from Eberhard Karls University Tübingen. From 1999 to 2016, he held the position of curator of the fossil insect department at the Natural History Museum in Stuttgart. He also taught insect systematics and phylogeny at the University of Hohenheim. He is author and co-author of about 160 scientific papers including a book published by the University of Cambridge and a popular book on evolution. He has discovered and named over 180 species and 11 biological groups are named after him. He was the editor of five scientific journals and the organiser of five major exhibitions on the history of the earth and evolution, including the largest exhibition in Germany on the occasion of the Darwin Year 2009.Bechle's research attracted widespread national and international media interest (including the BBC, Scientific American and National Geographic), especially the discovery of a new order of insects, Coxoplectoptera. He frequently appeared on German television, radio and in the press, and has served as a scientific advisor on three BBC natural history productions. He currently lives with his wife and two sons in Austria
He is a senior member of the Center for Science and Culture at the Discovery Institute. He received his PhD in astronomy from the University of Washington in 1993. He has held postdoctoral scholarships/fellowships at the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Washington.
He has been the recipient of awards, grants and fellowships from institutions such as NASA, the University of Washington, the Templeton Foundation, the Sigma Xi Scientific Society and the National Science Foundation.Gonzalez has extensive experience in acquiring and analysing data from ground-based observatories. He has worked at McDonald Observatory, Apache Point Observatory and Cerro Tololo Interamerican Observatory, among others. He is a world-class expert on the astrophysical requirements for space habitation and co-author of the Galactic Habitable Zone concept, which made the cover of Scientific American in 2001. Astronomers and astrobiologists around the world are conducting research based on his work on host stars for exoplanets, the Galactic Habitable Zone and red giants. Gonzalez has published nearly 70 peer-reviewed articles in journals such as The Astrophysical Journal, The Astronomical Journal, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Icarus and Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. He is also co-author of the specialist academic textbook for astronomy students "Observational Astronomy".In 2004, he published a book with Jay W. Richards, 'The Privileged Planet: How Our Place in the Cosmos is Designed for Discovery."
He is a Dominican, with a doctorate in fundamental theology. In 2011 he obtained his doctoral degree at Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University in Warsaw. In 2012-2013 he held a postdoctoral fellowship at the Discovery Institute in Seattle.
His research interests include the dialogue between faith and science, Thomistic philosophy, the theory of intelligent design and the history of modern theology, especially the Church's teaching on evolution. He has published 30 scholarly articles and six books, including 'The Church and Evolution' (2012), with Tomasz Rowiński 'Creation or Evolution? A Catholic's Dilemma' (2014), 'St Thomas Aquinas and Evolution' (2018). He is the translator of the first Polish edition of the early decrees of the Pontifical Biblical Commission. He has published, among others, in "Do Rzeczy", "Fronda", "Christianitas", "Gość Niedzielny". He currently collaborates with the En Arche Foundation.
Welcome to a unique international conference! "Faith and science in the age of secularisation". The Royal Castle in Niepołomice (Poland) from 1 to 3 June 2023.
This will be a unique event during which world-class specialists, professors Michael Behe; Guilermo Gonzalez; Günter Bechly; Rick Sternberg; Fr Michael Chaberek OP will present the state of the art on topics such as the origin of the world and man, the relationship between Faith and science. They will answer the question of what contemporary science says about Darwin's theory. They will present the state of the debate on the search for an answer to the question: is the world a product of chance or is it an 'intelligent design'?
We provide lectures in the beautiful interiors of the Royal Castle in Krakow-Niepolomice, as well as accommodation and meals during the conference.
Learn more...
Key information
Once your application has been successful, you will receive by email a link to make a deposit for the organisation of the conference. Participants whose application has been verified are requested to make a donation of PLN 400 to cover the basic costs associated with the event (accommodation, food, conference materials, etc.).
Once you have made your donation, you will receive confirmation of your attendance.
Please note that the conference is only open to adults.