Doctor of Science (Latin: Scientiæ Doctor), usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D. or Dr.Sc., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries, "Doctor of Science" is the title used for the standard doctorate in the sciences; elsewhere the Sc.D. is a "higher doctorate" awarded in recognition of a substantial and sustained contribution to scientific knowledge beyond that required for a Ph.D.

United States[link]

In the United States, the formally recognized traditional Doctor of Science is an academic research doctoral degree awarded by research universities. The academic research Sc.D. (or D.Sc.) is considered by both the United States Department of Education and the National Science Foundation to be equivalent to the more commonly awarded Ph.D.^[1]

The first North American Sc.D. was inaugurated by Harvard University in 1872, when graduate studies first began at Harvard, and where the Ph.D. and Sc.D. degrees were introduced in the same year.^[2] The Doctor of Science research degree is earned with the formal dissertation defense and approval of a committee on the basis of original research and publications, and it is awarded predominantly in doctoral-level science programs, such as engineering, medical and health sciences, and health economics.^[3]

Although rarer than the Doctor of Philosophy, the Doctor of Science research degree has been awarded by institutions such as Harvard University,^[4] Johns Hopkins University,^[5] Massachusetts Institute of Technology,^[6] Robert Morris University^[7] and Tulane University.^[8]

A few university doctoral research programs offer both the Sc.D. and Ph.D. degrees in the same academic field, such as Johns Hopkins University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, with identical requirements for obtaining either. Currently, research programs that offer the formal research Sc.D. but not the Ph.D. degree for a given field include several doctoral programs at Harvard University[1], Boston University, The George Washington University, Capitol College[2], and Dakota State University.^[9]

There are programs where the Sc.D. and Ph.D. have different degree requirements, though the two degrees are officially considered equivalent. The Engineering school at Washington University in St. Louis, for example, requires four graduate courses in the D.Sc. program not required for the Ph.D. degree, while the Ph.D requires teaching assistance services. The Johns Hopkins University also offers both Ph.D. and Sc.D. in certain programs [3], with only minor differences in university administration of the degrees. In some institutions, the Sc.D. has been converted to the Ph.D.^[10] For instance, the doctoral degree in biostatistics at Harvard recently converted from Sc.D. to Ph.D., even though the doctoral degree structure and requirements have remained identical.^[10]

The United Kingdom, Ireland and the Commonwealth[link]

In Ireland, the United Kingdom and the countries of the Commonwealth, such as India, the degree of Doctor of Science is one of the Higher Doctorates. In some older universities it typically has precedence after Divinity, Laws or Civil Law, Medicine, and Letters, and above Music. The degree is conferred on a member of the university who has a proven record of internationally recognised scholarship. A candidate for the degree will usually be required to submit a selection of their publications to the board of the appropriate faculty, which will decide if the candidate merits this accolade.

The degree is only exceptionally and rarely awarded to a scholar under the age of forty. However Marie Stopes obtained hers at the age of 25^[11] and Kevin Warwick had been awarded 2 by the time he was 40^[12].

The first University to admit an individual to this degree was the University of London in 1860.^[13] In 1893 Maria Ogilvie was the first woman to receive this degree. However, the University of London ceased awarding the degree more than ten years ago. ^[14]

In former times the doctorate in science was regarded as a greater distinction than a professorial chair and hence a professor who was also a D.Sc. would be known as Doctor. The Doctor of Science may also be awarded as an honorary degree, that is, given to individuals who have made extensive contributions to a particular field and not for specific academic accomplishments. It is usual to signify this by adding D.Sc. h.c. (for honoris causa)

Argentina[link]

In Argentina the formal title Doctor of Science would be attributed to different fields of the hard or soft sciences. To get into an Argentine Ph.D. program the applicant must have experience in research and at least an Engineering, Licentiate or Master degree:^[15]

Applied Sciences[link]

• Doctorate of Agronomic Sciences (U of BA, NU of LP, NU of C, NU of R, NU of MP, NU of the S)
• Doctorate of Sciences in Nutriment Technology (NU of the S)
• Doctorate of Sciences in Lacteal Technology (NU of the L)
• Doctorate of Sciences in Material Technology (NU of the S, NU of MP)
• Doctorate of Computer Sciences (U of BA, NU of C, NU of SL, NU of the S)
• Doctorate of Engineering Sciences (NU of C, NU of Cu, NU of RC, NU of the S, ITBA)
• Doctorate of Geological Sciences (NU of C, NU of Cu, NU of SJ, NU of SL, NU of the S)
• Doctorate of Informatics Sciences (NU of LP)
• Doctorate of Basic Sciences Applied (NU of Q)
• Doctorate of Science and Technology (NU of GS)
• Doctorate of Geological Sciences (U of BA)
• Doctorate of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (NU of SAM)
• Doctorate of Systems Control (NU of the S)
• Doctorate of Economy (NU of the S)
• Doctorate of Geography (NU of the S)
• Doctorate of History (NU of the S)
• Doctorate of Chemical Engineering (NU of the S)

Basic Sciences[link]

• Doctorate of Biological Sciences (U of BA, NU of LP, NU of C, NU of R, NU of the L, NU of Cu, NU of RC, NU of MP, NU of the S)
• Doctorate of Biological Chemistry Sciences (U of BA, NU of the S)
• Doctorate of Molecular Biology Sciences (U of BA)
• Doctorate of Mathematics Sciences (U of BA, NU of LP, NU of SL, NU of the S)
• Doctorate of Chemistry Sciences (NU of LP, NU of R, NU of C, NU of RC, NU of MP, NU of the S)
• Doctorate of Physics Sciences (U of BA, NU of LP, NU of MP, NU of SAM, NU of the S)
• Doctorate of Natural Sciences (U of BA, NU of LP)
• Doctorate of Philosophy (NU of the S)

Germany, Austria, Switzerland[link]

In Germany, Austria, and the German-speaking part of Switzerland, the most common doctoral degrees in Natural Sciences are the following:

• Dr. rer. nat. - Doctor rerum naturalium, literally "Doctor of the things of nature"
• Dr. sc. nat. - Doctor scientiae naturalis, Doctor of Natural Sciences (less often used)
• Dr. phil. nat. - Doctor philosophiae naturalis, used only by Goethe University Frankfurt instead of Dr. rer. nat.
• Dr.-Ing. - Doctor of Engineering, commonly awarded from Technical Universities only.
• Dr. mont. - Doctor rerum montanarum, used only by Montanuniversität Leoben instead of Dr.-Ing.

In these countries there are some related doctoral degrees with very similar names, these are the:

• Dr.sc.agr. - Doctor scientiarum agrariarum, Doctor of Agricultural science
• Dr.sc.hum. - Doctor scientiarum humanarum, Doctor of Humanistic Sciences
• Dr.sc.inf.med. - Doctor scientiarum informaticarum medicæ, Doctor of Science in Medical Informatics
• Dr.sc.inf.biomed. - Doctor scientiarum informaticarum biomedicæ, Doctor of Science in Biomedical Informatics
• Dr.sc.math. - Doctor scientiarum mathematicarum, Doctor of Mathematics
• Dr.scient.med - Doctor scientiæ medicæ, Doctor of Medical Sciences
• Dr.sc.mus. - Doctor scientiae musicae, Doctor of Musicology
• Dr.sc.oec. - Doctor scientiarum oeconomicarum, Doctor of Economics
• Dr.sc.pol. - Doctor scientarium politicarum, Doctor of Political Sciences
• Dr.sc.soc. - Doctor scientiae socialis, Doctor of Social Sciences

All these doctoral degrees are equivalent to the Ph.D. or Sc.D. of the American system. Until German Reunification, universities in East Germany also awarded the Dr.Sc. However, the East German Dr.Sc. wasn't equivalent to the Ph.D. since it was adopted to replace the German Habilitation and therefore was equivalent to this German qualification. After reunification the Habilitation was reintroduced at universities in eastern Germany.

The procedure of habilitation is normally required to receive officially the "venia docendi", which entitles the candidate to lecture at Universities. The academic degree after the successful habilitatation is f.e. Dr.rer.nat.habil., by adding the suffix "habil." to the earlier received Doctors degree.

In Switzerland, the Dr. sc. is a doctoral degree awarded only by the two Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology^[16] and the Department of Informatics of the University of Zurich^[17]. The Swiss Dr. sc., like the D.Sc. in the US, is equivalent to the Ph.D., is earned with the approval of a committee on the basis of original research, publications, and extensive applied professional contributions and is awarded in doctoral level science and technology programs. Since 2004 the Dr. sc. is the only doctoral degree awarded by the ETH Zurich. The École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne awards the degree Docteur ès sciences, abbreviated Dr ès sc..^[18] The title is translated into English as PhD.^[19]

Poland[link]

In Poland "Doctor of Sciences" (pl doktor nauk) is the equivalent of Ph.D. Doctoral degrees in Poland are similar to degrees awarded in Germany.

Doctorate (Doctor of Science) is always translated into English as Ph.D. (or PhD). Just like in Germany and Austria - habilitation (doktor habilitowany or dr. hab.) in Poland is the higher academic qualification, sometimes translated as D.Sc. (or DSc). The highest scientific degree in Poland is professorship (profesor), which is called a scientific title of professor.

Other European Union countries[link]

In Czech Republic and Slovakia "Doctor of Sciences" (Dr.Sc. behind the name) is equivalent to the degree of Doctor of Science in the sense in which the D.Sc. is used in the Commonwealth. It is the highest academic qualification and it is different from both Ph.D. and Ph.Dr. titles. Since 2006 a "Doctor of Sciences" degree (D.Sc. behind the name) is awarded not by Universities but by the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic mostly for research in the field of natural or formal science. In Slovakia, "Doctor of Sciences" (Dr.Sc.) is awarded by the Slovak Academy of Sciences.

In former Yugoslavia, the Serbian, Slovenian, etc. title doktor nauka (literally 'doctor of science') is used in a much broader sense than D.Sc., simply referring to a field of academic study – from art history (Sln. doktor znanosti s področja umetnostne zgodovine), philosophy (Sln. doktor znanosti s področja filozofije), and literary studies (Sln. doktor znanosti s področja literarnih ved) to hard sciences such as molecular biology (Sln. doktor znanosti s področja molekularne biologije). It is therefore formally recognized as a Ph.D. in Western Bloc, but also counts as PostDoc since it usually takes 10 years to obtain it after "Magister of Science" title has been obtained first.

In Finland, most doctoral degrees awarded in the fields of natural sciences, technology and economics are D.Sc. degrees with a suffix indicating the field of study. For example, the proper translation for the doctorate in technology (Tekniikan tohtori) would be D.Sc. (Tech.), whereas a doctorate in economics and business administration (Kauppatieteiden tohtori) would be translated as D.Sc. (Econ.). When conversing or writing in English, the prefix Dr. may be used to address a holder of a doctoral degree awarded in Finland.

In France the Doctor of Sciences degree (doctorat ès sciences also called doctorat d'État) was a higher doctorate in the fields of experimental and natural sciences, superseded in 1984 by the habilitation.

In Denmark Dr. Scient. is a higher doctorate.

Russia and other post-Soviet states[link]

In Russia and various other post-Soviet states, as well as in some of the former Communist Bloc countries, the status of Russian Doktor nauk (literally 'doctor of sciences') is a post-doctoral degree and has no American equivalent but does have a Western equivalent in the degree of Doctor of Science in the sense in which the D.Sc. is used in the Commonwealth.

Uzbekistan[link]

The higher education institutes in Uzbekistan also grant D.Sc. degrees. As an example, the National University of Uzbekistan and the Uzbekistan Academy of Sciences offer D.Sc. in various fields.

Brazil[link]

In Brazil only the Doctor in Science (D.Sc.) category is recognized as a higher doctorate,^[20] generally followed by the concentration area (program field).

This kind of doctorate is obtained in Graduate School after satisfactory evaluation of knowledge, research accomplishment, and thesis defense. This doctorate is comparable to a Ph.D. program found in other countries. In the state of São Paulo, the doctorate title is the second highest academic title given by the state's universities (University of São Paulo - USP, State University of Campinas - UNICAMP and São Paulo State University - UNESP). The highest academic title is the Livre-Docência. No Brazilian University awards the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree, except in the strict meaning (i.e. philosophy proper).

China, Japan, South Korea[link]

In these countries usually Sc.D./D.Sc. is equivalent to US Ph.D. in science and obtained in Graduate School after satisfactory evaluation of knowledge, research accomplishment, and thesis defense.

Thailand[link]

Higher education institutes in Thailand generally grant Ph.D. for research doctoral degree, except some universities such as Chulalongkorn University award D.Sc. In exception, Mahidol University can grant both Ph.D. and D.Sc. Doctoral students in Faculty of Science are always awarded Ph.D., but some other programs award D.Sc.

See also[link]

• Doktor nauk

Footnotes[link]

Nick Begich
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Alaska's At-large district
In office January 3, 1971 – October 16, 1972
Preceded by	Howard Pollock
Succeeded by	Don Young
Member of the Alaska State Senate
In office 1962–1970
Personal details
Born	Nicholas Joseph Begich (1932-04-06)April 6, 1932 Eveleth, Minnesota
Died	Presumably October 16, 1972(1972-10-16) (aged 40) Alaska
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Pegge Begich
Children	Mark, Nichelle, Stephanie, Tom, Paul, and Nick
Alma mater	St. Cloud State University, University of Minnesota, University of Colorado, University of North Dakota

Nicholas Joseph "Nick" Begich, Sr. (April 6, 1932 – undetermined, presumed dead October 16, 1972) was a Democratic Party member of the United States House of Representatives from Alaska. He disappeared in a plane crash in Alaska in 1972. His son Mark Begich is currently the junior U.S. Senator from Alaska.

Early life and education[link]

Begich was born and raised in Eveleth, Minnesota. His father, John Begich (Begić), was born in Podlapača, Croatia^[1] and his mother, Anna (née Martinich), was also Croatian.^[2] He attended Saint Cloud State University and the University of Minnesota before pursuing his doctorate at the University of Colorado and the University of North Dakota.

Career[link]

Begich worked as an expeditor and then a counselor in Anchorage, Alaska. He later worked in the administrative offices of Anchorage School District, eventually becoming Superintendent of Schools at Fort Richardson. In 1962, Begich was elected to the Alaska Senate, where he served for eight years. Begich also taught political science during parts of this period at the University of Alaska at Anchorage.

In 1970, Begich was elected to Alaska's only seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, defeating the Republican banker Frank Murkowski – who later served as a U.S. Senator and then the Governor of Alaska. In 1972 for his re-election, Begich was opposed by the Republican state senator Don Young.

Posthumously, Begich won the 1972 election with 56% to Don Young's 44%. However, after Begich's declared death, a special election was held and Mr. Young won this seat and still serves in this position as of 2011.

Disappearance[link]

On October 16, 1972, he was aboard a twin engine Cessna 310 along with House Majority Leader Hale Boggs of Louisiana when the plane disappeared during a flight from Anchorage to Juneau. Also on board were Begich's aide, Russell Brown; and the pilot, Don Jonz.^[3] The four were heading to a campaign fundraiser for Begich.

In an enormous search effort, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Air Force search and rescue planes looked for the four men and their airplane. On November 24, 1972, after proceeding for thirty-nine days, the air search was called off. Neither the wreckage of the plane nor the pilot's or passengers' remains have ever been found. All were declared dead on December 29, 1972. The accident prompted Congress to pass a law mandating emergency locator transmitters in all United States civil aircraft.

Election history[link]

Personal life[link]

Nick Begich had six children, named Mark, Nichelle, Tom, Stephanie, Paul, and Nick. His son Mark Begich is currently the junior U.S. Senator from Alaska. Mark won this position after defeating the Republican Party's longest serving Senator, Ted Stevens, who was killed in a plane crash nearly two years later.

Nick Begich's widow, Pegge Begich, ran for the House of Representatives seat in 1984 and 1986, but she was defeated by the incumbent, Mr. Young. She is retired now, and she resides in Nevada. Their eldest son, Nick Begich, Jr., is well known in Alaska for his own political activities. He has been twice elected as the president of both the Alaska Federation of Teachers and the Anchorage Council of Education. Nick Begich, Jr.'s current research focuses on the methods, actions, and ethics of various American governmental organizations. He has gained much popularity amongst conspiracy theorists, thanks to his tireless investigation of H.A.A.R.P. He authored the conspiracy theory book Angels Don't Play this H.A.A.R.P. and appeared on the TV show Conspiracy Theory.^[5]

References[link]

External links[link]

• EarthPulse, one of Nick Begich Jr's sites dedicated to energy pollution
• Nick Begich at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

v t e Members of the United States House of Representatives from Alaska Non-voting Delegates, elected at-large (1905–1959) Waskey Cale Wickersham Sulzer Wickersham Sulzer Grigsby Wickersham Sutherland Wickersham Dimond Bartlett Members of the House of Representatives, elected at-large (1959–present) Rivers Pollock Begich Young

Edgar Dean Mitchell
NASA Astronaut
Nationality	American
Status	Retired
Born	(1930-09-17) September 17, 1930 (age 81) Hereford, Texas
Other occupation	Test Pilot
Rank	Captain, USN
Time in space	9d 00h 01m
Selection	1966 NASA Group
Missions	Apollo 14
Mission insignia

Edgar Dean Mitchell, Sc.D. (born September 17, 1930) is an American pilot, engineer, and astronaut. As the lunar module pilot of Apollo 14, he spent nine hours working on the lunar surface in the Fra Mauro Highlands region, making him the sixth person to walk on the Moon.

Biography[link]

Mitchell was born in Hereford, Texas.^[1] He was active in the Boy Scouts of America where he achieved its second highest rank, Life Scout. He was also a member of DeMolay International and has been inducted into its Hall of Fame.

Mitchell earned a Bachelor of Science degree in industrial management from Carnegie Institute of Technology in 1952.^[1] The following year he joined the US Navy where he trained as a pilot and flew off the aircraft carriers USS Bon Homme Richard and USS Ticonderoga. He later qualified as a research pilot and taught at the Navy's research pilot school. While on active duty in the Navy, he earned a Master of Science degree in aeronautical engineering from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School and a Doctor of Science degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.^[1] He currently resides in suburban West Palm Beach, FL.

Mitchell is a member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity, and carried one of the order's badges to the Moon; it is now kept at his home chapter of Kappa Sigma at Carnegie Mellon University.

NASA career[link]

Mitchell studies a map while walking on the Moon, February 6, 1971

Mitchell was selected to be an astronaut in 1966 and was seconded from the Navy to NASA. He was designated as backup lunar module pilot for Apollo 10, and flew as lunar module pilot on Apollo 14, where he spent nine hours working on the lunar surface in the Fra Mauro Highlands region, making him the sixth person to walk on the Moon.

Apollo 14 was Mitchell's only spaceflight. He remained with NASA until 1972, when he retired from the Navy.

After NASA[link]

Ed Mitchell was awarded honorary doctorates from the New Mexico State University, the University of Akron, Carnegie Mellon University and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

Edgar Mitchell was presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1970 by President Richard Nixon.

On June 29, 2011, the United States Government filed a lawsuit against Mitchell in the United States District Court in Miami, Florida after discovering that he possessed a camera used by the Apollo 14 crew on the moon, and had put the camera up for auction at the British auction house Bonhams. The litigation asked that the camera be returned to NASA. Mitchell's position was that NASA had given him the camera as a gift upon the completion of the Apollo 14 mission. Bonhams has withdrawn the camera from auction.^[2] In October, 2011, prosecutors and Mitchell reached a settlement agreement, under which Mitchell gave up any claims to the camera and agreed to return it to NASA, which in turn would donate it for display at the National Air and Space Museum. ^[3]

Other interests[link]

Mitchell's interests include consciousness and paranormal phenomena. On his way back to earth during the Apollo 14 flight he had a powerful Savikalpa samadhi experience^[4], and also claimed to have conducted private ESP experiments with his friends on Earth.^[5] The results of said experiments were published in the Journal of Parapsychology in 1971.^[6] In early 1973, he founded the nonprofit Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS) to conduct and sponsor research into areas that mainstream science has found unproductive, including consciousness research and psychic events.

Remote healing[link]

Mitchell says that a teenage remote healer who lives in Vancouver and uses the pseudonym Adam Dreamhealer helped him heal kidney cancer at a distance. Mitchell said that while he never had a biopsy, "I had a sonogram and MRI that was consistent with renal carcinoma." Adam worked (distantly) on Mitchell from December 2003 until June 2004, when the "irregularity was gone and we haven't seen it since".^[7]

Views on UFOs[link]

Mitchell has publicly expressed his opinions that he is "90 percent sure that many of the thousands of unidentified flying objects, or UFOs, recorded since the 1940s, belong to visitors from other planets"^[8] and that UFOs have been the "subject of disinformation in order to deflect attention and to create confusion so the truth doesn't come out".^[9] Dateline NBC conducted an interview with Mitchell on April 19, 1996, during which he discussed meeting with officials from three countries who claimed to have had personal encounters with extraterrestrials. He offered his opinion that the evidence for such "alien" contact was "very strong" and "classified" by governments, who were covering up visitations and the existence of alien beings' bodies in places such as Roswell, New Mexico. He further claimed that UFOs had provided "sonic engineering secrets" that were helpful to the U.S. government. Mitchell's book, The Way of the Explorer, discusses his journey into mysticism and space.^[10]

In 2004 he told the St. Petersburg Times that a "cabal of insiders" in the U.S. government were studying recovered alien bodies, and that this group had stopped briefing U.S. presidents after John F. Kennedy.^[11] He said, "We all know that UFOs are real; now the question is where they come from."^[12]

On July 23, 2008 Edgar Mitchell was interviewed on Kerrang Radio by Nick Margerrison. Mitchell claimed the Roswell crash was real and that aliens have contacted humans several times, but that governments have hidden the truth for 60 years stating, "I happen to have been privileged enough to be in on the fact that we've been visited on this planet, and the UFO phenomenon is real." In reply, a spokesman for NASA stated, "NASA does not track UFOs. NASA is not involved in any sort of cover up about alien life on this planet or anywhere in the universe. Dr Mitchell is a great American, but we do not share his opinions on this issue."^[13][14]

In an interview with Fox News on July 25, 2008, Mitchell clarified that his comments did not involve NASA, but quoted unnamed sources, since deceased, at Roswell who confided to him that the Roswell incident did involve an alien craft. Mitchell also claims to have subsequently received confirmation from an unnamed intelligence officer at the Pentagon.^[15][16]

Edgar Mitchell, February 2009

Other projects[link]

Edgar Mitchell appears in the documentaries In the Shadow of the Moon, The Phoenix Lights...We Are Not Alone, and The Living Matrix.

Mitchell has written several articles and essays,^[17] as well as two books. In The Way of the Explorer, Mitchell proposed a dyadic model of reality.^[18]

He is currently the Advisory Board Chairman of the Institute for Cooperation in Space, co-founded by Dr. Carol Rosin^[19] and is a member of INREES.

Mitchell is one of the initial supporters of the Campaign for the Establishment of a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly – which would be a first step towards a "world parliament".^[20]

Honors and awards[link]

This article incorporates information from the equivalent article on the Polish Wikipedia.

• Presidential Medal of Freedom (1970)
• NASA Distinguished Service Medal
• Navy Astronaut Wings
• Navy Distinguished Service Medal

In media[link]

1998 HBO TV series From the Earth to the Moon – played by Gary Cole

Books[link]

• The Way of the Explorer: An Apollo Astronaut's Journey Through the Material and Mystical Worlds (1996), G. Putnam & Sons, hardcover, ISBN 0-399-14161-8, 2008 paperback edition: ISBN 1-56414-977-3, audio cassette edition: ISBN 1-57270-019-X
• Psychic Exploration: A Challenge for Science (1974), G. Putnam & Sons, ISBN 0-399-11342-8

References[link]

• New Mexico Museum of Space History

References[link]

External links[link]

Biography portal

• Edgar Mitchell's home page
• Apollo Lunar Surface Journal: Apollo 14
• Edgar Mitchell MP3 audio – from Shift in Action, sponsored by Institute of Noetic Sciences
• Samadhi in Space interview with Dr. Edgar Mitchell in ascent magazine
• "Release all information on UFOs & ETs", an interview with Mitchell in Soul Travel Magazine
• Edgar Mitchell, member of INREES Institute for Research of Extraordinary Experiences

Simon Singh
Singh speaking at TAM London in October 2009
Born	(1964-01-01) 1 January 1964 (age 48) Somerset, England
Occupation	Author, TV presenter
Spouse	Anita Anand
Children	Hari Singh
Relatives	Tom Singh (brother)
Website
SimonSingh.net

Simon Lehna Singh, MBE (born 1 January 1964) is a British author who has specialised in writing about mathematical and scientific topics in an accessible manner. His written works include Fermat's Last Theorem (in the United States titled Fermat's Enigma: The Epic Quest to Solve the World's Greatest Mathematical Problem), The Code Book (about cryptography and its history), Big Bang (about the Big Bang theory and the origins of the universe) and Trick or Treatment? Alternative Medicine on Trial (about complementary and alternative medicine).

He has also produced documentaries and works for television to accompany his books, is a trustee of NESTA, the National Museum of Science and Industry and co-founded the Undergraduate Ambassadors Scheme.

In 2008, Singh was unsuccessfully sued for libel by the British Chiropractic Association for criticising their activities in a column in The Guardian.^[1] A "furious backlash"^[2] to the lawsuit resulted in the filing of formal complaints of false advertising against more than 500 individual chiropractors within one 24 hour period, with one national chiropractic organisation ordering its members to take down their websites,^[3] and Nature Medicine noting that the case had gathered wide support for Singh, as well as prompting calls for the reform of English libel laws.^[4] On 1 April 2010, Simon Singh won his court appeal for the right to rely on the defence of fair comment.^[5] On 15 April 2010, the BCA officially withdrew its lawsuit, ending the case.^[6]

Early life[link]

Simon Singh signing a book for a fan, Brisbane May 23, 2005.

Singh's parents emigrated from Punjab in India to Britain in 1950. He is the youngest of three brothers, his eldest brother being Tom Singh, the founder of the UK New Look chain of stores. Singh grew up in Wellington, Somerset, attending Wellington School, and went on to Imperial College London, where he studied Physics. He was active in the student union, becoming President of the Royal College of Science Union.^[7] Later he completed a PhD degree in particle physics at Emmanuel College, Cambridge University and at CERN, Geneva.^[8]

Career[link]

In 1990 Singh joined the BBC's Science and Features Department, where he was a producer and director working on programmes such as Tomorrow's World and Horizon.

Singh directed his BAFTA award-winning documentary about the world's most notorious mathematical problem entitled "Fermat's Last Theorem" in 1996. The film was memorable for its opening shot of a middle-aged mathematician, Andrew Wiles holding back tears as he recalled the moment when he finally realised how to resolve the fundamental error in his proof of Fermat's Last Theorem. The documentary was originally transmitted in October 1997 as an edition of the BBC Horizon series. It was also aired in America as part of the NOVA series. The Proof, as it was re-titled, was nominated for an Emmy Award.

The story of this celebrated mathematical problem was also the subject of Singh's first book, Fermat's last theorem. In 1997, he began working on his second book, The Code Book, a history of codes and codebreaking. As well as explaining the science of codes and describing the impact of cryptography on history, the book also contends that cryptography is more important today than ever before. The Code Book has resulted in a return to television for him. He presented The Science of Secrecy, a five part series for Channel 4. The stories in the series range from the cipher that sealed the fate of Mary, Queen of Scots, to the coded Zimmermann Telegram that changed the course of the First World War. Other programmes discuss how two great 19th century geniuses raced to decipher Egyptian hieroglyphs and how modern encryption can guarantee privacy on the Internet. In October 2004, Singh published a book entitled Big Bang, which tells the history of the universe. It is told in his trademark style, by following the remarkable stories of the people who put the pieces together.

In 2003, Singh was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to Science, Technology and Engineering in Education and Science Communication.^[9] In the same year he was made Doctor of Letters (honoris causa) by Loughborough University, and in 2005 was given an honorary degree in Mathematics by Southampton University.

Currently, he is involved more in television and radio programmes, including A Further Five Numbers (BBC Radio 4, 2005).

Simon speaks at JREF TAM8 July 2010

He made headlines in 2005 when he criticised the Katie Melua song "Nine Million Bicycles" for inaccurate lyrics referring to the size of the observable universe. Singh proposed corrected lyrics, though he used the value of 13.7 billion light years; accounting for expansion of the universe, the comoving distance to the edge of the observable universe is 46.5 billion light years.^[10][11] BBC Radio 4's Today programme brought Melua and Singh together in a radio studio where Melua recorded a tongue-in-cheek version of the song that had been written by Singh.^[12]

In 2006, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Design degree by the University of the West of England "in recognition of Simon Singh’s outstanding contribution to the public understanding of science, in particular in the promotion of science, engineering and mathematics in schools and in the building of links between universities and schools".^[13] This was followed up by his receipt of the Kelvin Medal from the Institute of Physics in 2008, for his achievements in promoting Physics to the general public.^[14] In July 2008, he was also awarded a degree of Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) by Royal Holloway, University of London.^[15] In July 2011, he was awarded another degree of Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) by the University of Kent for services to Science.

Simon is a member of the Advisory Council for the Campaign for Science and Engineering.^[16] He is the maiden winner of the Lilavati Award.^[17] In February 2011 he was elected as a Fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry^[18]

[edit] Chiropractic lawsuit and backlash

In 19 April 2008, The Guardian published Singh's column "Beware the Spinal Trap",^[19][20] an article that was critical of the practice of chiropractic and which resulted in Singh being sued for libel by the British Chiropractic Association (BCA). When the case was first brought against him, The Guardian supported him and funded his legal advice, as well as offering to pay the BCA's legal costs in an out-of-court settlement if Singh chose to settle.^[21]

The article developed the theme of the book that Singh and Edzard Ernst had just published, Trick or Treatment? Alternative Medicine on Trial, and made various statements about the lack of usefulness of chiropractic "for such problems as ear infections and infant colic":

You might think that modern chiropractors restrict themselves to treating back problems, but in fact they still possess some quite wacky ideas. The fundamentalists argue that they can cure anything. And even the more moderate chiropractors have ideas above their station. The British Chiropractic Association claims that their members can help treat children with colic, sleeping and feeding problems, frequent ear infections, asthma and prolonged crying, even though there is not a jot of evidence. This organisation is the respectable face of the chiropractic profession and yet it happily promotes bogus treatments.^[19]

Court case[link]

In May 2009, Mr Justice Eady ruled in a preliminary hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice that merely using the phrase "happily promotes bogus treatments" meant that Singh was stating, as a matter of fact (rather than as a matter of personal opinion or metaphor), that the British Chiropractic Association was being consciously dishonest in promoting chiropractic for treating the children's ailments in question. Singh denied he intended any such meaning.^[21]

Singh decided to appeal the ruling, which raised substantially the potential financial liability that he would face if he lost the case. Leave to appeal was granted in October 2009.^[22][23]

The pre-trial hearing took place in February 2010 before three senior judges at the Royal Courts of Justice.^[24] In April 2010, they allowed Singh's appeal, ruling that the high court judge had "erred in his approach".^[25] The Court of Appeal overturned the previous ruling that Singh's comments were an assertion of fact and instead ruled that Singh was entitled to defend his comments as legally permissible fair comment.^[26][27]

BCA withdrew their libel action shortly after this ruling, resulting in the end of the legal case.^[28][29]

Outside the courtroom[link]

Before Eady's preliminary ruling was overturned on appeal, commentators said that the ruling could set a precedent that had chilling effects on the freedom of speech to criticise alternative medicine.^[30][31] An editorial in Nature commented on the case, and suggested that the BCA may be trying to suppress debate and that this use of English libel law is a burden on the right to freedom of expression, which is protected by the European Convention on Human Rights.^[32]

The Wall Street Journal Europe cited the case as an example of how British libel law "chills free speech", saying that:

As a consequence, the U.S. Congress is considering a bill that would make British libel judgments unenforceable in the U.S. ... Mr. Singh is unlikely to be the last victim of Britain's libel laws. Settling scientific and political disputes through lawsuits, though, runs counter the very principles that have made Western progress possible. "The aim of science is not to open the door to infinite wisdom, but to set a limit to infinite error," Bertolt Brecht wrote in The Life of Galileo. It is time British politicians restrain the law so that wisdom prevails in the land, and not errors."^[33]

Simon Singh has been supported by the charity Sense About Science, which has published this button in his favour.^[34]

The charity Sense About Science launched a lobbying campaign to draw attention to the case.^[34] They issued a statement and began an online petition entitled "The English law of libel has no place in scientific disputes about evidence", which was signed by about 20,000 people.^[35] Many press sources have covered the issue.^[36]

The publicity produced by the libel action led to a "furious backlash",^[2] with formal complaints of false advertising being made against more than 500 individual chiropractors within one 24-hour period,^[3][37] with the number later climbing to one-quarter of all British chiropractors.^[2] It also prompted the McTimoney Chiropractic Association to write in a leaked message to its members advising them to remove leaflets that make claims about whiplash and colic from their practice, to be wary of new patients and telephone inquiries, and telling their members: "If you have a website, take it down NOW." and "Finally, we strongly suggest you do NOT discuss this with others, especially patients."^[2][3] One chiropractor is quoted as saying that "Suing Simon was worse than any Streisand effect and chiropractors know it and can do nothing about it."^[2]

After demands that the British Chiropractic Association "engage in scientific debate over its position", the BCA produced its scientific evidence in a statement "supported by just 29 citations", which was:

"ripped apart by bloggers within 24 hours of publication, before being subjected to a further shredding in the British Medical Journal. It emerged that 10 of the papers cited had nothing to do with chiropractic treatment, and several weren't even studies. The remainder consisted of a small collection of poor-quality trials. More seriously, the BCA misled the public with a misrepresentation of one paper, a Cochrane review looking at the effectiveness of various treatments for bed-wetting..."^[2]

In a new report, the General Chiropractic Council "has disowned the claims of the BCA–the same claims that lie at the centre of its libel action against Simon Singh.... Notably, the report concludes that the evidence does not support claims that chiropractic treatment is effective for childhood colic, bed-wetting, ear infections or asthma, the very claims that Singh was sued for describing as "bogus".^[2]

Bibliography[link]

• Singh, Simon (1997). Fermat's Last Theorem. Fourth Estate. ISBN 1-85702-669-1. 
• Singh, Simon (1998). Fermat's Enigma: The Epic Quest to Solve the World's Greatest Mathematical Problem. Anchor. ISBN 0-385-49362-2. 
• Singh, Simon (2000). The Code Book: The Science of Secrecy from Ancient Egypt to Quantum Cryptography. Anchor. ISBN 0-385-49532-3. 
• Singh, Simon (2005). Big Bang: The Origin of the Universe. Fourth Estate. ISBN 0-00-716220-0. 
• Singh, Simon; Ernst, Edzard (2008). Trick or Treatment? Alternative Medicine on Trial. Transworld. ISBN 978-0-593-06129-9. 
• Singh, S. (2011). "How English libel law has a global chill on free speech". Cortex 47 (6): 643–644. DOI:10.1016/j.cortex.2011.03.007. PMID 21458790.  edit

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Simon Singh

	United Kingdom portal
	Biography portal
	Science portal

• Simon Singh's official website
• Simon Singh's page, Conville and Walsh

Radio shows

• Simon Singh: The five most important numbers in mathematics
• Simon Singh: Another five numbers
• Simon Singh: A further five numbers

Other

• Undergraduate Ambassadors' Scheme, co-founded by Simon Singh
• Simon Singh: No miracle cure for junk science
• Archive of Happy Families, a British Chiropractic Association brochure that claimed “chiropractic care ... helped children” with asthma, bedwetting and baby colic, claims Dr. Singh took issue with, all ending in a lawsuit.
• Transcript of Court of Appeal judgment on leave to appeal, 14 October 2009.
• Ten Questions that BCA Members Should Now Be Asking, an analysis of the legal and practical position that BCA members are in as a result of the lawsuit, by Jack of Kent.
• Chiropractors Try to Silence Simon Singh

David Servan-Schreiber (April 21, 1961 – July 24, 2011)^[1] was a French physician, neuroscientist and author. He was a clinical Professor of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.^[2] He was also a lecturer in the Faculty of Medicine of Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1.

Life and career[link]

Servan-Schreiber was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine, he was co-founder and then director of the Centre for Integrative Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Following his volunteer activity as physician in Iraq in 1991, he was one of the founders of the US branch of Médecins Sans Frontières, the international organization that was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999. He also served as volunteer in Guatemala, Kurdistan, Tajikistan, India, and Kosovo.^[3] He was also a founding board member of Environmental Health Trust [1] and a leader in efforts to promote safer cell phone use [2][3]

In 2002 he was awarded the Pennsylvania Psychiatric Society Presidential Award for Outstanding Career in Psychiatry. He is the author of Healing Without Freud or Prozac (translated in 29 languages, 1.3 million copies sold), and Anticancer: A New Way of Life (translated in 35 languages, New York Times best-seller, 1 million copies in print) in which he discloses his own diagnosis with a malignant brain tumor at the age of 31 and the treatment program that he put together to help himself beyond his surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy.

He was also a regular columnist for Ode magazine and other publications.

Later life and death[link]

Having been treated twice for a malignant brain tumor, Servan-Schreiber became a leading figure in his engagement for integrative approaches to the prevention and treatment of cancer. He popularized his knowledge through teaching seminars, lectures, books, a blog and audio books. He died of brain cancer in Fécamp on July 24, 2011, after almost 20 years fighting a cancer considered terminal at the time of its diagnosis.^[4][5]

David Servan-Schreiber was the eldest son of the late French journalist, author and politician Jean-Jacques Servan-Schreiber.^[6]

Bibliography [link]

• Anticancer - Prévenir et lutter grâce à nos défenses naturelles, Éditions Robert Laffont, S.A., Paris 2007, ISBN 978-2-221-10871-0
• On peut se dire au revoir plusieurs fois, Éditions Robert Laffont, S.A., Paris 2011, ISBN 978-2-221-12704
• " Healing Without Freud Or Prozac", Rodale UK, ISBN 978-1405077583
• " The Instinct to Heal: Curing Depression, Anxiety and Stress Without Drugs and Without Talk Therapy", Rodale Books, ISBN 978-1594861581

References[link]

External links [link]

• anticancerbook.com Website in english on "Anticancer" -- includes his regular blog
• nofreudnoprozac.org Website in english on his previous book "Healing without Freud or Prozac" a.k.a. "Instinct to Heal" in the US and Canada
• Guerir.fr - Website in french
• 7min video introduction to Anticancer, a new way of life
• 10 min documentary on Anticancer from Canadian Broadcasting Corp.