Robert Shapiro is Professor Emeritus and Senior Research
Scientist in the Department of Chemistry at New York University.
He is author or co-author of over 125 publications, primarily in
the area of DNA chemistry, and in the origin of life. In
particular, he and his co-workers have studied the ways in which
environmental chemicals can damage our hereditary material,
causing changes that can lead to mutations and cancer. His
research has been supported by numerous grants from the National
Institutes of Health, Department of Energy, National Science
Foundation and other organizations. Further details can be found
at the following website:
http://chemistry.fas.nyu.edu/object/robertshapiro.html Professor
Shapiro was born on November 28, 1935 in New York City and
obtained a BS in chemistry, summa cum laude (1956) from the City
College of New York He received a PhD degree in organic
chemistry from Harvard, under the supervision of Nobel Laureate
R.B. Woodward (1959), postdoctoral training in DNA chemistry at
Cambridge with Nobel Laureate Lord Todd (1959-1960). After an
additional year of postdoctoral study at the NYU Medical School,
he joined the NYU Chemistry Department in 1961. He has held a
Career Development Award from the National Institutes of Health
and has been awarded (with physicist Paul Davies) the Trotter
Prize in Complexity, Information and Inference for 2004. In
addition to his research, Professor Shapiro has written four
books and several magazine articles for the general public. The
books include: 1. "Life Beyond Earth", co-author with Gerald
Feinberg, (Morrow 1980). This book advanced a very positive view
about the possibilities for life elsewhere in the Universe. For
example, it discussed the possibility of life in underground
niches on Mars, in oceans beneath the frozen surfaces of the
satellites of Jupiter, and in various environments within Titan,
a satellite of Saturn. Today, these sites rank at the top of
NASA's agenda, in searching for life within our Solar System. In
addition, it described a number of exotic possibilities for life
based on substances other than carbon or water. Timothy Ferris,
commented in a front-page review in the New York Times Book
Review: "Informative and authoritative yet venturesome and
readable, 'Life Beyond Earth' is one of the best books on Earth
about life elsewhere." The New Yorker observed: "For people who
like to rerad about solid scientific speculation, this is an
exhilarating, informative, and ultimately liberating book." 2.
"Origins, a Skeptic's Guide to the Creation of Life on Earth",
(Simon & Schuster, 1986). This work is described elsewhere in
this web site. 3. "The Human Blueprint", (St. Martin's Press,
1991). This work described the current and future course of the
Human Genome Project. It anticipated the use of DNA testing to
resolve the Thomas Jefferson-Sally Hemings paternity question,
and the Anastasia controversy, as well as the use of DNA
analysis to track the historical movement of human populations.
It was an alternate Book-of-the Month Club Selection for Sept.
1991, and in German translation, this book was selected by the
jury "Bild am Wissenschaft" as the "Wissenschaftbuch des Jahres"
(Science Book of the Year). 4. "Planetary Dreams", (Wiley,
1999). This work is described elsewhere in this web site.
Professor Shapiro has commented: "obviously, I have developed a
taste for very large scientific topics". When he is not involved
in research, lecturing or writing, he enjoys running, hiking,
wine-tastings, raquetball, and travel. He and his wife Sandra, a
clinical psychologist practicing in New York, were married in
1964. Their son, Michael, born in 1971, composes music for films
(http://mikemusic.com).
Robert Shapiro is Professor Emeritus and
Senior Research Scientist in the
Department of Chemistry at New York
University. He is author or co-author of
over 125 publications, primarily in the
area of DNA chemistry, and in the origin
of life. In particular, he and his
co-workers have studied the ways in
which environmental chemicals can damage
our hereditary material, causing changes
that can lead to mutations and cancer.
His research has been supported by
numerous grants from the National
Institutes of Health, Department of
Energy, National Science Foundation and
other organizations. Further details can
be found at the following website:
Professor Shapiro was born on November
28, 1935 in New York City and obtained a
BS in chemistry, summa cum laude (1956)
from the City College of New York He
received a PhD degree in organic
chemistry from Harvard, under the
supervision of Nobel Laureate R.B.
Woodward (1959), postdoctoral training
in DNA chemistry at Cambridge with Nobel
Laureate Lord Todd (1959-1960). After an
additional year of postdoctoral study at
the NYU Medical School, he joined the
NYU Chemistry Department in 1961. He has
held a Career Development Award from the
National Institutes of Health and has
been awarded (with physicist Paul
Davies) the Trotter Prize in Complexity,
Information and Inference for 2004.
In addition to his research, Professor
Shapiro has written four books and
several magazine articles for the
general public. The books include:
1.“Life Beyond Earth”,
co-author with Gerald Feinberg,
(Morrow 1980). This book advanced a
very positive view about the
possibilities for life elsewhere in
the Universe. For example, it
discussed the possibility of life in
underground niches on Mars, in
oceans beneath the frozen surfaces
of the satellites of Jupiter, and in
various environments within Titan, a
satellite of Saturn. Today, these
sites rank at the top of NASA’s
agenda, in searching for life within
our Solar System. In addition, it
described a number of exotic
possibilities for life based on
substances other than carbon or
water.
Timothy Ferris, commented in a
front-page review in the New York
Times Book Review: “Informative and
authoritative yet venturesome and
readable, ‘Life Beyond Earth’
is one of the best books on Earth
about life elsewhere.” The New
Yorker observed: “For people who
like to rerad about solid scientific
speculation, this is an
exhilarating, informative, and
ultimately liberating book.”
2.“Origins, a Skeptic’s
Guide to the Creation of Life on
Earth”, (Simon & Schuster,
1986). This work is described
elsewhere in this web site.
3.“The Human Blueprint”,
(St. Martin’s Press, 1991). This
work described the current and
future course of the Human Genome
Project. It anticipated the use of
DNA testing to resolve the Thomas
Jefferson-Sally Hemings paternity
question, and the Anastasia
controversy, as well as the use of
DNA analysis to track the historical
movement of human populations. It
was an alternate Book-of-the Month
Club Selection for Sept. 1991, and
in German translation, this book was
selected by the jury “Bild am
Wissenschaft” as the
“Wissenschaftbuch des Jahres”
(Science Book of the Year).
4.“Planetary Dreams”,
(Wiley, 1999). This work is
described elsewhere in this web
site.
Professor Shapiro has commented:
“obviously, I have developed a taste for
very large scientific topics”.
When he is not involved in research,
lecturing or writing, he enjoys running,
hiking, wine-tastings, raquetball, and
travel. He and his wife Sandra, a
clinical psychologist practicing in New
York, were married in 1964. Their son,
Michael, born in 1971, composes music
for films (http://mikemusic.com).
Planetary Dreams
“The stunning insights provided
in Planetary Dreams make it a
book for everyone who has the
slightest curiosity about our
role in the cosmos.”
Origins, a Skeptic’s Guide to
the Creation of Life on Earth
Reviews:
“Professor Shapiro, of New York University,
is a chemist, and to judge from this
splendid book, a natural writer. He shifts
through the various hypotheses about the
origin of life and demonstrates that most
are scientifically implausible or are simply
forms of creation myth, sometimes in the
guise of science.”
-The New Yorker
“Here is a first-rate scientific mind
enlivened by wit and wisdom throwing a
brilliant light upon the perennially
interesting question of the origin of life;
and performing this seemingly difficult task
in a most delightfully readable manner.
ORIGINS is certainly the most original and
right-headed book ever written on the
subject, at once illuminating, highly
informative, and vastly entertaining, and
while likely to cause some bats in academic
belfries to blush, the reader will find it
an exhilarating experience.”
-Dr. Ashley Montague
“Superbly written…To walk through its
arguments is to come upon the process of
science, the veil of self-deception, and the
questing nature of speculation.”
-Science ‘86
Excerpt:
“’There are those who believe that life here
began out there.’ A phrase of this type was
repeated at the start of each episode of a
recent space-opera series. As it was spoken,
the screen showed a fleet of spacecraft
headed for the planet Earth, in a massive
galactic Exodus. The scope of these events,
and the backdrop of star-studded space, sent
a clear message. Our presence on this planet
was not merely the result of some local
accident but rather had cosmic importance,
affecting the entire galaxy.
The heavens on a bright night are a
magnificent sight. I find it impossible to
look up at them and not be overwhelmed by
their majesty. I was spared this experience
for much of my childhood, as I grew up under
the hazy, glare-filled skies of New York
City. Only occasionally, when my family was
on vacation in the Catskills and I was
allowed to stay up unusually late on a
summer evening, could I enjoy the full
experience. More often, I saw it in
simulation, under the artificial sky of the
Hayden Planetarium. Whatever the
circumstances, once I had seen the effect, I
could understand the emotions of those who
wished to move our origins out into the
cosmos. They were similar to those of a
chambermaid in a fairy tale, who secretly
hoped that she had been born a princess and
that someday her true identity would be
revealed.”
