Episode 88 Dr. Addy Pross DEC 9, 2012

Think Atheist

A distinguished chemist and co-author of the acclaimed Pross-Shaik model, Dr. Pross received both his BSc and PhD from the University of Sydney. He did his postdoctoral work at Kings College, London and the Hebrew University, Jerusalem before taking a position at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel where he was ultimately made Professor of Chemistry. Even while maintaining his position at Ben-Gurion University (indeed, while serving as the Chair of the Chemistry Department) he has held visiting positions at the world's foremost institutions. These include the Lund University, Stanford University, Rutgers University, University of California at Irvine, University of Padova, the Australian National University Canberra, and his alma mater, the University of Sydney. He has the distinction of having been the invited plenary speaker to more than 60 conferences and universities. Until more recently, most of Dr. Pross' research has focused on chemical reactivity and organic reaction mechanisms. Switching focus, he has become interested in investigating the mechanisms of the emergence of life from simple chemicals to complex biology. He is the author of over 100 research papers and an influential text on organic reactivity. We asked Dr. Pross to join us to discuss his newly published book, What is Life? How Chemistry Becomes Biology. It's a fascinating subject with implications for several issues of relevance to freethinkers. Don't miss it!