Cool Creation

Ryan Bebej is a professor in the Department of Biology at Calvin University, where he has taught courses in anatomy, physiology, and zoology since 2012. He earned his Ph.D. in ecology and evolutionary biology with a focus in paleontology from the University of Michigan. His scientific research focuses on the evolution of cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises) from terrestrial ancestors. He is especially interested in the earliest stages of this evolutionary transition and the anatomical modifications that facilitate changes in swimming mode. He has excavated skeletons of fossil whales at Wadi Al-Hitan, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Egypt’s western desert, and he routinely spends time working in collections at world-renowned museums. Ryan is also deeply interested in the relationship between science and Christian faith, especially the difficult theological questions that arise when considering evolution. In addition to being a member of BioLogos Voices since 2016, he has been a Scholarship and Christianity in Oxford (SCIO) visiting scholar in science and religion, a participant in SCIO’s Bridging the Two Cultures of Science and the Humanities II program, and a fellow of the American Scientific Affiliation. When he isn’t working, he loves playing tabletop games with his family, going birding, and rooting for the Michigan Wolverines and St. Louis Cardinals.

As Senior Scholar of BioLogos, Dr. Jeff Schloss provides writing, speaking, and scholarly research on topics that are central to the values and mission of BioLogos and represent BioLogos in dialogues with other Christian organizations. He holds a joint appointment at BioLogos and at Westmont College. Schloss holds the T. B. Walker Chair of Natural and Behavioral Sciences at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California, and directs Westmont’s Center for Faith, Ethics, and the Life Sciences. Schloss, whose Ph.D. in ecology and evolutionary biology is from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, often speaks to public, church-related, and secular academic audiences on the intersection of evolutionary science and theology. Among his many academic publications are The Believing Primate: Scientific, Philosophical, and Theological Reflections on the Origin of Religion (Oxford University Press), which he edited with philosopher Michael Murray. Schloss has also participated in a number of invitational collaborations on topics in evolutionary biology, emphasizing various aspects of what it means to be human, hosted by several universities, including Cambridge, Edinburgh, Emory, Harvard, Heidelberg, Oxford, and Stanford. He has held fellowships at Notre Dame’s Center for Philosophy of Religion, St. Anne’s College Oxford, and Princeton’s Center for Theological Inquiry, and serves on the editorial boards of several journals, including Religion, Brain, and Behavior; Science & Christian Belief; and Theology and Science.

Rick Lindroth (Ph.D., University of Illinois-Urbana) is a Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor of Ecology (Emeritus) and former Associate Dean for Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a Distinguished Fellow of The Lumen Center (Madison, WI). His research focused on evolutionary ecology, global change ecology, and trophic dynamics in forest ecosystems. He has been a Fulbright Fellow and is an elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the Ecological Society of America, the Entomological Society of America, and the American Scientific Affiliation. Funded by grants from the National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and other agencies, Rick and his research group have published nearly 250 journal articles and book chapters. Rick currently works at The Lumen Center, a community of scholars working at the intersection of Christianity and culture. He speaks to public and faith-based groups about creation care, environmental stewardship, climate change, biodiversity, and science denialism/communication. Rick serves on the Board of Directors for A Rocha USA and is a member of the BioLogos Voices speaker’s bureau. He and his wife have two daughters and four grandchildren. For recreation, they enjoy road cycling, flyfishing, hiking and reading – though not necessarily in that order.

 

Praveen is Professor of Physiological Genomics and Chair of the Department of Biomedical Sciences at Cornell University. He is also Director of the Cornell Center for Vertebrate Genomics. He leads a research lab focused on genome-scale and molecular approaches to understand physiology and human disease. Praveen received his BA degree from Cornell University and his PhD in Genomics from the University of Pennsylvania. After completing a post-doctoral fellowship at the National Human Genome Research Institute under the mentorship of NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins, he moved in 2011 to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Genetics. The same year he was selected by Genome Technology as one of the nation’s top 25 rising young investigators in genomics. In 2017, he returned to Cornell University as an Associate Professor. Praveen has authored over 140 peer-reviewed publications in scientific journals such as PNAS, Cell and Science and has served as a reviewer for over 50 different journals. Honors include a faculty merit award for outstanding teaching and mentoring, the prestigious American Diabetes Association Pathway To Stop Diabetes Research Accelerator (which is awarded to only three people per year), and the inaugural Boehringer Ingelheim Award for Excellence in Research Mentorship. Praveen is an advocate for thoughtful discussion at the interface of science and faith and has served on the advisory board of the Dialogue on Science, Ethics, and Religion in the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), serves on the Board of BioLogos, is a frequent speaker for the BioLogos Voice Program and the Veritas Forum, and a mentor in the Veritas Faculty Scholars program.

Kate Vosburg has been serving with InterVarsity since 1999 and has an MA in Theology from Fuller Theological Seminary. She and her husband, David, a chemistry professor, recently published Jesus, Beginnings, and Science to foster gracious conversations on science and faith. Kate loves sharing about Jesus, especially with people who have historical or personal reasons to distrust Christian communities.