Fleming Group
Fleming Group
A. Work History
B. Education
C. Personal Background
Born
in the rural town of Waipawa, located in sunny Hawkes Bay, New Zealand, I lived most of my early years
in the adjacent town of Waipukurau. An early
interest in science was kindled at home through a childhood filled with
mechanical adventures including go-karting,
motorbikes, and the infamous chemistry kit. At school this love of making
things work translated into an interest in science which later coalesced into
an intense interest in chemistry. I have a strong interest in helping others
which focused my early interest in chemistry on the synthesis of medicines
which I pursued at Massey University, located about 70 miles from Waipukurau. In
the early 80's the Chemistry Department at Massey University integrated
chemistry within the university's historic focus on agricultural problems.
Typical of this biologically oriented program were the projects offered for
Honors students. I began a project whose aim was to design an affinity
exchange resin capable of selectively extracting the anti-coagulant Heparin,
from animal offal (leading to the infamous pigs liver extraction) commonly
available in New Zealand! From this background I moved to the University of
British Columbia for a Ph. D. with Professor Edward Piers, one of Canada's
leading organic chemists and an outstanding teacher. After 4 ˝ delightful
years of natural product synthesis, developing new nitrile
chemistry, and sampling the beauty of Canada's wilderness areas, camping,
canoeing, hiking, yachting, I moved to Corvallis, Oregon. My post-doctoral
appointment with James White, Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, at Oregon
State University focused on indolizidine synthesis
but also involved a joint radiolabeling project
with veterinary scientists. Two years later, after numerous synthetic
adventures, and a few outdoor adventures too, I moved to Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania and began an independent academic career at Duquesne University.
D. Science and Christianity
An
early interest in science and a strong interest Christianity stimulated what
has become a life-long quest to understand the relationship of science with
Christianity. I am a member of the American Scientific Affiliation and I
regularly review books in science and religion for the journal Perspectives
on Science and Christianity. I have taught several classes in the area of
science and religion both as university courses and as short courses for
general church audiences. I
am a founding member of the "Christian Academic Fellowship" - CAFÉ
- an independent university organization whose mission lies in ". . .
integrating our spiritual beliefs and values into our various roles in the
university community." As moderator for CAFÉ I was involved in several
book studies (Habits of the Mind: Intellectual Life as a Christian Calling
by James Sire, and A Christian Critique of the University by Charles Malik), organizing yearly retreats, and organizing
university presentations (Medicine and Compassion in Early Christianity
by Dr. Gary Ferngren, 2000; A Role for the
Catholic University in the 21st Century by Dr. Jim Sire, 2001; The Big
Bang, Stephen Hawking and God by Dr. Fritz Schaefer, 2005; and Science
vs. Belief? The Challenge of Naturalism by Terence Nichols). My interest
in integrating Christianity into an academic vocation has led to occasional
lectures on the topic at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh and to academics
in Germany and Poland during sabbatical visits. |
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