Tim Berra
Encyclopedia
Dr. Tim M. Berra is the author of the 1990 book, Evolution and the Myth of Creationism. Dr. Berra is Professor Emeritus of Evolution
, Ecology
and Organism
al Biology
at the Ohio State University
. He is a two-time Fulbright Fellow, and after retirement has pursued his special interests in the zoology of Australia, often on grant from the National Geographic Society
.
Berra's book was the result of his having been asked to help local curriculum
writers create a mandated curriculum to include all the science that demonstrated creationism
. The writers had been unable to find science journal articles explaining the evidence for creationism. Berra pointed out that such articles do not exist. The book describes, for policy makers, why politics cannot mandate science that cannot be done. It is notable for a point-by-point rebuttal to chief claims of creationism.
Berra received a Ph.D. in Biology from Tulane University in 1969. He is a two-time recipient of Fulbright Fellowships to Australia in 1969 and 1979. He taught at the University of Papua New Guinea before joining the faculty of OSU in 1972. Over the last 39 years he has spent over 7 years doing fieldwork in Australia.
Dr. Berra is the author of over 70 scientific papers and 6 books including Evolution and the Myth of Creationism published by Stanford University Press in 1990. His book A Natural History of Australia (Academic Press, 1998) features 200 of his color photographs, 220 line drawings and maps, and over 500 references. Freshwater Fish Distribution featuring 169 maps, 324 fish drawings and 1,700 references was published by University of Chicago Press in 2007. His latest book, Charles Darwin: The Concise Story of an Extraordinary Man, will be published by Johns Hopkins University Press in November 2008 and features 60 b/w illustrations and 16 color plates.
Dr. Berra is the former editor of The Ohio Journal of Science and was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium where he also served on the Conservation and Collection Management Committee. He was also the ichthyological book review editor of Copeia, the journal of the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists and a member of the Board of Governors of the Society. Dr. Berra resigned these positions at the end of 2000 to pursue fieldwork supported by the National Geographic Society and the Columbus Zoo in Australia in 2001. He is Research Associate at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory in Darwin, Australia where he spent most of 2001 working on the life history of the nurseryfish. He returned to Darwin in 2003, 2004, and 2005 to continue his nurseryfish research.
In 1992, Berra was visiting professor at the University of Concepcion in Chile, and in 1996 he was visiting professor at the University of Otago in New Zealand. He took early retirement from Ohio State University in July 1995 to devote full time to research, writing, and photography.
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
, Ecology
Ecology
Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
and Organism
Organism
In biology, an organism is any contiguous living system . In at least some form, all organisms are capable of response to stimuli, reproduction, growth and development, and maintenance of homoeostasis as a stable whole.An organism may either be unicellular or, as in the case of humans, comprise...
al Biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
at the Ohio State University
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
. He is a two-time Fulbright Fellow, and after retirement has pursued his special interests in the zoology of Australia, often on grant from the National Geographic Society
National Geographic Society
The National Geographic Society , headquartered in Washington, D.C. in the United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational institutions in the world. Its interests include geography, archaeology and natural science, the promotion of environmental and historical...
.
Berra's book was the result of his having been asked to help local curriculum
Curriculum
See also Syllabus.In formal education, a curriculum is the set of courses, and their content, offered at a school or university. As an idea, curriculum stems from the Latin word for race course, referring to the course of deeds and experiences through which children grow to become mature adults...
writers create a mandated curriculum to include all the science that demonstrated creationism
Creationism
Creationism is the religious beliefthat humanity, life, the Earth, and the universe are the creation of a supernatural being, most often referring to the Abrahamic god. As science developed from the 18th century onwards, various views developed which aimed to reconcile science with the Genesis...
. The writers had been unable to find science journal articles explaining the evidence for creationism. Berra pointed out that such articles do not exist. The book describes, for policy makers, why politics cannot mandate science that cannot be done. It is notable for a point-by-point rebuttal to chief claims of creationism.
Berra received a Ph.D. in Biology from Tulane University in 1969. He is a two-time recipient of Fulbright Fellowships to Australia in 1969 and 1979. He taught at the University of Papua New Guinea before joining the faculty of OSU in 1972. Over the last 39 years he has spent over 7 years doing fieldwork in Australia.
Dr. Berra is the author of over 70 scientific papers and 6 books including Evolution and the Myth of Creationism published by Stanford University Press in 1990. His book A Natural History of Australia (Academic Press, 1998) features 200 of his color photographs, 220 line drawings and maps, and over 500 references. Freshwater Fish Distribution featuring 169 maps, 324 fish drawings and 1,700 references was published by University of Chicago Press in 2007. His latest book, Charles Darwin: The Concise Story of an Extraordinary Man, will be published by Johns Hopkins University Press in November 2008 and features 60 b/w illustrations and 16 color plates.
Dr. Berra is the former editor of The Ohio Journal of Science and was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium where he also served on the Conservation and Collection Management Committee. He was also the ichthyological book review editor of Copeia, the journal of the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists and a member of the Board of Governors of the Society. Dr. Berra resigned these positions at the end of 2000 to pursue fieldwork supported by the National Geographic Society and the Columbus Zoo in Australia in 2001. He is Research Associate at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory in Darwin, Australia where he spent most of 2001 working on the life history of the nurseryfish. He returned to Darwin in 2003, 2004, and 2005 to continue his nurseryfish research.
In 1992, Berra was visiting professor at the University of Concepcion in Chile, and in 1996 he was visiting professor at the University of Otago in New Zealand. He took early retirement from Ohio State University in July 1995 to devote full time to research, writing, and photography.
See also
- intelligent designIntelligent designIntelligent design is the proposition that "certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection." It is a form of creationism and a contemporary adaptation of the traditional teleological argument for...
- Nursery fish