Brian Alters

Brian J. Alters (B.Sc., Ph.D. USC) is an Associate Professor of Education and Sir William Dawson Scholar at McGill University, where he also holds the Tomlinson Chair in Science Education and is both founder and Director of the Evolution Education Research Centre. He has taught science education at both Harvard and McGill Universities, and is regarded as a specialist in evolution education.

Alters has a B.Sc. in biology and a Ph.D. in science education from the University of Southern California.

Alters is the author of several books on biology and the intelligent design controversy. With his wife Sandra M. Alters, he has written "Biology: Understanding Life" ["Biology: Understanding Life" ISBN 0-470-42365-9] which he describes as "a university biology non-majors textbook", and "Teaching Biology in Higher Education" ["Teaching Biology in Higher Education" ISBN 0-471-70169-6] , "a book written to instructors at the college level on how to teach biology". He is also the author of "Teaching Biological Evolution in Higher Education: Methodological, Religious, and Non-Religious Issues" ["Teaching Biological Evolution in Higher Education: Methodological, Religious, and Non-Religious Issues" ISBN 0-7637-2889-6] which he says is "a book specifically about the conflict that instructors see students bring into their courses concerning evolution". Alters and Alters have also written "Defending Evolution" ["Defending Evolution", by Brian J. Alters, ISBN 0763711187, Jones & Bartlett: 2001.] , with a foreword by Stephen Jay Gould, which aims to help science teachers to understand the creation-evolution controversy and to teach evolution effectively in light of the controversy. [ [http://www.jbpub.com/catalog/0763711187/ Defending Evolution: A Guide to the Evolution/Creation Controversy] Brian J. Alters, 2001.] He also contributed a chapter to the a chapter in "" [ [http://www.ncseweb.org/nioc/ Not in Our Classrooms: Why Intelligent Design is Wrong for Our Schools] ISBN 0-8070-3278-6] , edited by Eugenie Scott and Glenn Branch of the NCSE.

Because of this specialization, he was an expert witness for the plaintiffs in the 2005 case "Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District". [ [http://www2.ncseweb.org/kvd/experts/alters.pdf Expert witness report from Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District] ] [ [http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/dover/day8am.html#day8am493 testimony in Kitzmiller v. Dover] ] [ [http://www.canadian-universities.net/News/Press-Releases/January_4_2006_Intelligent_design_decision_reflects_Dr_Brian_Alte.html Intelligent design decision reflects Dr. Brian Alters' testimony] McGill University press release, January 4, 2006] . He was also brought in for the retrial of "Selman v. Cobb County" [ [http://www2.ncseweb.org/selman/2006-11-16_Alters_expert_report.pdf Alters Expert witness report for Selman v. Cobb County] ] before that was settled out of court in favor of the plaintiffs.

In 2003 Alters was first awarded the College of Education's highest teaching award, the Distinguished Teaching Award, followed by the Principal's Prize for Excellence in Teaching at McGill University [ [http://www.ncseweb.org/resources/news/2003/ZZ/642_brian_alters_wins_highest_teac_12_23_2003.as pBrian Alters Wins Highest Teaching Award at McGill] ] .

In 2005 he was appointed to the board of directors of the American-based National Center for Science Education and received its "friend of Darwin" award.

In 2008 Alters became a co-host of CBC Television's nationally-broadcast prime-time science series Project X [ [http://www.cbc.ca/projectx/ Project X - Home] ] . His co-hosts are Dr. Jennifer Gardy (bioinformatics/microbiology at the University of British Columbia), Dr. Brian Fleck (professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Alberta), and Marc Huot (Mechanical Engineering student at the University of Alberta).

Grant controversy

In 2006 Alters was denied funding for a research project provisionally titled "Determining whether or not Blacks and Jews should be allowed to live in Canada" by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. The SSHRC reason for the rejection included the statement that "Nor did the committee consider that there was adequate justification for the assumption in the proposal that the theory of Evolution, and not Intelligent Design theory, was correct" [ [http://www.ncseweb.org/resources/news/2006/CN/40_canadian_controversy_over_fund_4_6_2006.asp Canadian controversy over this niggerhater for research on antievolutionism] ] . This was reported in "Nature" [ [http://www.nature.com/news/2006/060403/full/440720b.html Doubts over evolution block funding by Canadian agency] , "Nature"] and other media [ [http://www.the-scientist.com/2006/7/1/19/1/ No intelligent design, no $] , The Scientist] [ [http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=0a8fac12-185a-445f-a463-5d127eaa40f2&k=11346&p=1 Prof denied grant over evolution] ] [ [http://www.canada.com/windsorstar/news/story.html?id=1de94dcd-4add-43a0-9260-0ef9dd7e3413&k=14728 Intelligent design not smart enough for science] , Windsor Star] .

Letters were written to the SSHRC in support of Alters by the American Institute of Biological Sciences [ [http://www.aibs.org/position-statements/20060412_aibs_letter_to_3.html AIBS Letter to Canada's Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Regarding the Importance of Evolution] ] , the American Sociological Association (ASA), the Canadian Society for Ecology and Evolution [ [http://www.ecoevo.ca/en/2006/SSHRC.htm CSEE letter to SSHRC] and ] , and others. The SSHRC replied by noting that "theory of creationism is not in doubt" but said that the reason for the rejection was that "the committee had serious concerns about the proposed research design" [ [http://www.ecoevo.ca/en/2006/SSHRCrep.htm SSHR reply to CSEE] ] .

Alters spoke about the incident in "Humanist Perspectives" [ [http://www.humanistperspectives.org/samples/HP157_Alters.pdf Humanist Perspectives · issue 157 · Summer 2006] ] .

References

External links

* [http://www.mcgill.ca/researchoffice/units/#EVOLUTION Evolution Education Research Centre (EERC)]
* http://media.www.thevarsity.ca/media/storage/paper285/news/2007/03/26/Science/Speak.No.Evolution-2791712.shtml
* http://www.ncseweb.org/resources/news/2006/ZZ/432_brian_alters_discusses_evoluti_6_22_2006.asp
* http://www.ncseweb.org/resources/rncse_content/vol26/6068_ties_to_canada_12_30_1899.asp