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.”
Channel 34 of the Time/Warner & Channel 83 of the
RCN
Cable Television Systems in Manhattan, New York.
The Program can now be viewed on the
internet at time of cable casting at: WWW.MNN.ORG NOTE: You
must adjust viewing to reflect NYC time & click on "WATCH MNN 1" at site
