Contact: Kay Fike Jones
Outspoken proponents of creationism and evolution will face off Sept. 17 in a public program at Mississippi State University.
Sponsored by the campus chapter of Fellowship of Christian Athletes, "Creation vs. Evolution: A Scientific Debate" begins at 7 p.m. in Lee Hall auditorium.
Speaking for creationism is Duane T. Gish of the Institute for Creation Research in El Cajon, Calif.; for evolution, Massimo Pigliucci of the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.
During the debate, each speaker will have an hour to present an argument for the universe's origin, based on his particular scientific model. Following both presentations, 15 minutes will be allocated to each for a rebuttal, then five minutes each for closing remarks.
Questions then will be taken from the audience, with each debater allowed equal time to respond.
Gish is a senior vice president at ICR and a biochemistry professor at the institute's graduate school. Pigliucci is an assistant professor in U.T.'s botany department.
A private, not-for-profit corporation established in 1970, the ICR bases its educational philosophy on scientific creationism. Its research, publications and teaching focus on scientific fields relating to the study of origins.
Gish received a doctorate in 1953 from the University of California at Berkeley; Pigliucci, a doctorate in 1994 from the University of Connecticut.
In addition to teaching ecological and evolutionary genetics, Pigliucci is a researcher in the field of plant ecological genetics. He twice has won the Oak Ridge National Labs Science Alliance Research Award and the Dobzhansky Prize of the Society for the Study of Evolution.
For more information on the program, contact John Lamberth at (601) 325-0906.