Joseph A. Schwarcz
Encyclopedia
Joseph A. Schwarcz, known to his students, and many via his science popularization efforts as Dr. Joe, has a PhD in chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....

 and is a professor at McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...

 in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

. He is the director of McGill's Office for Science & Society, which is dedicated to demystifying science for the public. He earned a Ph.D. at McGill in 1973.

He is known through his many books, weekly column in the Montreal Gazette, weekly radio show on CJAD 800 in Montreal and CFRB 1010 in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

, and frequent segments on the Discovery Channel Canada
Discovery Channel Canada
Discovery Channel is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel devoted to nature, adventure, science and technology programming. Discovery Channel is currently owned by CTV Specialty Television Inc...

. He has also had a show on Discovery Canada in the past (Science to Go). Schwarcz has consulted for a number of Fortune 500 companies, including Monsanto.

Dr. Joe is of Hungarian birth. He is well known for his informative and entertaining public lectures on topics ranging from household chemicals to the chemistry of love. Dr. Joe formerly taught at Vanier College
Vanier College
Vanier College is an English-language public college located in the Montreal borough of Saint-Laurent, Quebec, Canada. It was founded in 1970 as the second English-language public college of Quebec's public college system...

, and there established a series of courses designed to bring chemistry to the common student, and later to the general public through public lectures. This was then replicated at McGill University. Dr. Joe is an amateur magician and often describes how "supernatural feats" can be done by ordinary means, with a scientific explanation to boot. Uri Geller
Uri Geller
Uri Geller is a self-proclaimed psychic known for his trademark television performances of spoon bending and other supposed psychic effects. Throughout the years, Geller has been accused of using simple conjuring tricks to achieve the effects of psychokinesis and telepathy...

, the mentalist, is a common target for debunking. Schwarcz is the winner of the American Chemical Society
American Chemical Society
The American Chemical Society is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 161,000 members at all degree-levels and in all fields of chemistry, chemical...

's James T. Grady-James H. Stack Award for Interpreting Chemistry
James T. Grady-James H. Stack Award for Interpreting Chemistry
The James T. Grady-James H. Stack Award for Interpreting Chemistry for the Public is awarded on a yearly basis by the American Chemical Society. The Award recognizes outstanding reporting on chemistry, chemical engineering, and related chemical fields...

 for interpreting chemistry to the public. In 1992, he was the co-winner of the Royal Society of Canada
Royal Society of Canada
The Royal Society of Canada , may also operate under the more descriptive name RSC: The Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada , is the oldest association of scientists and scholars in Canada...

's McNeil Medal, awarded for the public awareness of science.

Dr. Schwarcz was nominated by McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...

 as one of the USA Science and Engineering Festival
USA Science and Engineering Festival
USA Science and Engineering Festival was a science festival in Washington, D.C. that founder Larry Book deemed the country’s first national science festival. The inaugural event was held from October 10, 2010 through October 24, 2010 and was planned to be a yearly event. The two week festival...

's Nifty Fifty Speakers. He spoke about his work and career to middle and high school students in October 2010.

See also

  • Bill Nye
    Bill Nye
    William Sanford "Bill" Nye , popularly known as Bill Nye the Science Guy, is an American science educator, comedian, television host, actor, mechanical engineer, and scientist...

  • Bob Macdonald
    Bob MacDonald
    Bob MacDonald was a conservative Toronto journalist and columnist.MacDonald was part of the team that founded The Toronto Sun newspaper after the demise of the The Toronto Telegram...

  • Carl Sagan
    Carl Sagan
    Carl Edward Sagan was an American astronomer, astrophysicist, cosmologist, author, science popularizer and science communicator in astronomy and natural sciences. He published more than 600 scientific papers and articles and was author, co-author or editor of more than 20 books...

  • David Suzuki
    David Suzuki
    David Suzuki, CC, OBC is a Canadian academic, science broadcaster and environmental activist. Suzuki earned a Ph.D in zoology from the University of Chicago in 1961, and was a professor in the genetics department of the University of British Columbia from 1963 until his retirement in 2001...

  • The Amazing Randi

  • Ariel Fenster
    Ariel Fenster
    Ariel Fenster is science promoter and lecturer in chemistry at McGill University and a founding member of the Office for Science and Society . He holds a Master's degree from the University of Paris and a Ph.D from McGill University...

    , fellow colleague and science populizer at McGill and also formerly Vanier

Selected bibliography

  • Dr. Joe's Brain Sparks: 179 Inspiring and Enlightening Inquiries into the Science of Everyday Life (2010, ISBN 978-0385669306)
  • Science, Sense & Nonsense (2009, ISBN 978-0385666046)
  • Brain Fuel: 199 Mind-Expanding Inquiries into the Science of Everyday Life (2008, ISBN 978-0385666022)
  • An Apple A Day: The Myths, Misconceptions and Truths About the Foods We Eat (2007, ISBN 978-0-00-200764-1)
  • Let Them Eat Flax: 70 All-New Commentaries on the Science of Everyday Food & Life (2005, ISBN 1-55022-698-3)
  • The Fly in the Ointment: 70 Fascinating Commentaries on the Science of Everyday Life (2004, ISBN 1-55022-621-5)
  • That's the Way the Cookie Crumbles: 62 All-New Commentaries on the Fascinating Chemistry of Everyday Life (2004, ISBN 1-55022-520-0)
  • The Genie in the Bottle: 68 All New Commentaries on the Fascinating Chemistry of Everyday Life (2001, ISBN 1-55022-442-5)
  • Radar, Hula Hoops, and Playful Pigs: 67 Digestible Commentaries on the Fascinating Chemistry of Everyday Life (2001, ISBN 0-8050-7407-4)
  • Hungary: where salami is a vegetable." (2000, ISBN 1-55025-698-3)

External links

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