Dr. Kevin McGraw is Assistant professor of Evolutionary and Systems Biology at ASU School of Life Sciences. Dr. McGraw holds an M.S. from Auburn Univ., and a Ph.D. from Cornell. In addition, he has done post doctoral studies at U.C.-Davis.

Dr. McGraw is the author and co-author of numerous books, articles and papers. He was awarded the 2005 Outstanding New Investigator Award by the American Ornithologists' Union. His contributions come in the field of avian visual communication and coloration, and he is credited with pioneering a new approach to the study of ornamental traits. By taking an integrative approach that combines concepts and techniques from evolutionary biology, behavioral ecology, behavioral endocrinology, avian nutrition, and immunoecology, he has helped to solve questions about why and how birds assume the colors they do. He is a world authority on the carotenoid pigments of skin and feathers and other sources of color. By addressing how colors are synthesized, influenced by access to dietary components, and affected by health, condition, and heritage, he has greatly advanced our understanding of how avian ornaments develop and evolve.

The HSGP Book Club meets at the Mesa Library, Main Branch, 64 East 1st Street (East of Country Club Way at the intersection of N. Centennial Way -- N.W. corner)

We read and discussed the book that started it all! It was sold out on its first day of publication in 1859. It created controversy then, and it continues to do so today. Read it and be informed first-hand on Darwin's Theory of Evolution.

There are many editions out there, included abridged, so try to get a copy of the original version.

Dr. Willem "Wim" Vermaas came to Arizona State University in 1986 after having worked on various aspects of plant cell and molecular biology at the University of Illinois, Michigan State University, the Technical University in Berlin (Germany), the Agricultural University in Wageningen (The Netherlands), and the Du Pont Experimental Station (Wilmington, Delaware). Since coming to ASU, research in his group has focused on the molecular biology and cell physiology of prokaryotic photosynthetic systems, increasingly making use of functional genomics. Dr. Vermaas is involved with the National Science Foundation (NSF) supported Integrative Graduate Education and Research Training (IGERT) program in Biomolecular Nanotechnology, and was Director of the related NSF-supported Graduate Research Training Program in the molecular plant sciences.

Lori Lipman Brown is the Director of the Secular Coalition for America http://www.secular.org/index.html, a 501(c)4 advocacy organization whose purpose is to amplify the diverse and growing voice of the nontheistic community in the United States.

Ms. Brown served as Nevada State Senator from 1992 to 1994. Her legislative efforts focused on public education, mental health care and the repeal of consensual sex crimes, which resulted in her being named Civil Libertarian of the Year by the Southern Nevada chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union and Legislator of the Year by the Nevada chapter of the National Association of Social Workers.

Brown has been a frequent political commentator on television and radio and a regular columnist in a variety of print media. A former private practice lawyer, she taught constitutional law, American history, and education law for the University of Phoenix, and women's studies for the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Brown was also a high school English, speech and drama teacher in the Clark County school district.

She obtained her J.D. from Southwestern University School of Law in 1983, and her B.A. in communications from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 1981. She has facilitated or presented at numerous events and served as a National Education Association diversity trainer from 1996 to 2000. Brown was hired by the Secular Coalition for America in September, 2005. She directs the coalition's activities and lobbies members of Congress on issues arising out of the inappropriate incursion of religion into civil law. She also addresses the interests and concerns of America's atheists, freethinkers, humanists, and other nontheists through media appearances and speaking engagements.

The HSGP Book Club meets at the Mesa Library, Main Branch, 64 East 1st Street (East of Country Club Way at the intersection of N. Centennial Way -- N.W. corner)

From Publisher's Weekly: Edwards's assured but schematic debut novel (after her collection, The Secrets of a Fire King) hinges on the birth of fraternal twins, a healthy boy and a girl with Down syndrome, resulting in the father's disavowal of his newborn daughter. A snowstorm immobilizes Lexington, Ky., in 1964, and when young Norah Henry goes into labor, her husband, orthopedic surgeon Dr. David Henry, must deliver their babies himself, aided only by a nurse. Seeing his daughter's handicap, he instructs the nurse, Caroline Gill, to take her to a home and later tells Norah, who was drugged during labor, that their son Paul's twin died at birth. Instead of institutionalizing Phoebe, Caroline absconds with her to Pittsburgh. David's deception becomes the defining moment of the main characters' lives, and Phoebe's absence corrodes her birth family's core over the course of the next 25 years. David's undetected lie warps his marriage; he grapples with guilt; Norah mourns her lost child; and Paul not only deals with his parents' icy relationship but with his own yearnings for his sister as well. Though the impact of Phoebe's loss makes sense, Edwards's redundant handling of the trope robs it of credibility. This neatly structured story is a little too moist with compassion.

Our HSGP member Chuck Lesher was born in Kansas, raised in Colorado, graduated high school in Southern California, and then moved to Phoenix, where he joined the Army. He spent the next four years in Maryland, Germany and Texas. Upon returning to civilian life, Chuck earned a BS in Engineering Mechanics-Aerospace from the University of Wisconsin and a MS in Materials Science from Arizona State University. After graduation, Chuck worked at Space Data/Orbital Sciences Corporation designing, building and launching small sounding rockets and high altitude weather balloons. Later, he served as Quality Assurance Manager for Hybrid Design Associates in Tempe, a small manufacturing company that specializes in harsh-environment electronic assemblies.

Chuck is married to HSGP member Peggy, has three grown children and three grandchildren (with another on the way). He writes Speculative Fiction under his full name, Charles Lee Lesher. His debut novel, Evolution’s Child, was selected as 2007’s Best of the Moon Fiction by the Lunar Library. Check out his website at: http://www.charleslesher.com

Robert J. McWhirter -- Bob -- returned to charm us again with the conclusion of his fascinating talk from October 21, 2007.

Bob is Assistant Federal Public Defender, District of Arizona. He received his Juris Doctorate from Arizona State University College of Law in 1988. Upon graduation, Mr. McWhirter clerked for then Vice Chief Justice Stanley G. Feldman of the Supreme Court of Arizona. He has been an Assistant Federal Public Defender since 1989, representing Native Americans and other clients in a broad range of Federal cases including homicide, sexual abuse, and bank robbery. In addition, Mr. McWhirter has developed a specialty in criminal immigration law, having published articles in the Georgetown Immigration Law Review and the Criminal Practice Law Report. The American Bar Association has published his book The Criminal Lawyer's Guide to Immigration Law: Questions and Answers. Mr. McWhirter also teaches criminal immigration law and immigration consequences of criminal convictions nationally for Criminal Justice Act Panel Attorneys (with the program sponsored by the Administrative Office of the United States Courts), as well as the history of the Fourth Amendment.

Note location for May: Mesa Library, Main Branch, 64 East 1st Street (East of Country Club Way at the intersection of N. Centennial Way -- N.W. corner)

From Amazon.com:

Carl Sagan’s prophetic vision of the tragic resurgence of fundamentalism and the hope-filled potential of the next great development in human spirituality The late great astronomer and astrophysicist describes his personal search to understand the nature of the sacred in the vastness of the cosmos. Exhibiting a breadth of intellect nothing short of astounding, Sagan presents his views on a wide range of topics, including the likelihood of intelligent life on other planets, creationism and so-called intelligent design, and a new concept of science as “informed worship.” Originally presented at the centennial celebration of the famous Gifford Lectures in Scotland in 1985 but never published, this book offers a unique encounter with one of the most remarkable minds of the twentieth century.