A chemist and God

Science | Henry Schaefer sees a natural nexus between faith and science | S. Joshua Swamidass and Shoba Spencer

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Which sounds more interesting: a technical talk on "Lesions in DNA Subunits" or one on "The Big Bang, Stephen Hawking and God"?

Henry Schaefer, 64, a long-time University of Georgia professor and a pioneer in theoretical chemistry—he's in the top 10 of all researchers cited in recent years in chemistry publications—gives both. But when organizers of Techfest 2008 asked him to speak at their major technology conference in Mumbai, India, they wanted the Big Bang speech, which Schaefer was happy to give.

People in every land want to hear about God, and Schaefer is willing to speak: He mentions that he has presented over 500 nontechnical talks on the compatibility of Christianity and science at over 300 universities around the world, in the process communicating with "perhaps 100,000 students who would not have been interested in a conventional presentation of the gospel." He's made 20 trips to India and China, "where the harvest is very rich." Typically, he presents a straight chemistry lecture at the same university where he gives these general interest lectures.