Scientists of the Christian Faith -- Alphabetical Index (U-V)

Alexei Alexeivich Ukhtomsky *** Not in Gale

(1875-1942).  Russian physiologist. Ukhtomsky was named after a river in his Russian province. He studied medicine and became an outstanding lecturer on physiology in St. Petersburg. In his day

Alexei was a world leader in understanding the functions of the central nervous system.  He belonged to a religious group called the Old Believers, a conservative part of the Russian Orthodox Church. Alexei openly challenged his students to accept the Christian faith. A man with wide interests, Alexei once gave a talk on "The Splendor of Church Singing" at a 1912 Old Believers Congress. He died of starvation during the siege of Leningrad during World War II, at age 67.

From Don B. DeYoung.  "Creation and Early Medicine," Creation Matters, May/June 2001.

AA UKHTOMSKY INSTITUTE OF PHYSIOLOGY http://www.fnii.pu.ru/eng/

Universitetskaya Embankment 7/9, St. Petersburg 199034, Russia. The Institute comprises 19 research laboratories with a total staff of 202 specialists, including 17 Doctors of Sciences. Main research fields: - carrying out investigations of human and animal physiology, biophysics and morphology.

Abu Musa Isa ibn Usayyid *** Not in Gale

From http://www-gap.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Thabit.html:

Al-Sabi Thabit ibn Qurra al-Harrani (826-901) had a student, Abu Musa Isa ibn Usayyid (late A.D. 800s), who was a Christian from Iraq. Ibn Usayyid asked various questions of his teacher Thabit and a manuscript exists of the answers given by Thabit, this manuscript being discussed in S Pines, Thabit Qurra's conception of number and theory of the mathematical infinite, in 1968 Actes du Onzième Congrès International d'Histoire des Sciences Sect. III : Histoire des Sciences Exactes (Astronomie, Mathématiques, Physique) (Wroclaw, 1963), 160-166.

Sebastien Vaillant *** Not in Gale

(1669-1722).  French botanist, pharmacologist.  Catholic.

The Galileo Project, http://galileo.rice.edu/Catalog/NewFiles/vaillant.html

After he got to Paris, Vaillant came in from Neuilly, where he practised as a surgeon, every Wednesday to attend Tournefort's courses at the Jardin du Roi. He also made several botanical expeditions with him. He became an astute plant analyst and began a systematic anatomical study of all the plants in Tournefort's Institutiones.

Over a fourteen year period many scientists accompanied Vaillant on botanical excursions notably along the coasts of Normandy and Brittany. Apart from his fieldwork he concentrated on careful dissections of plants. His premature death prevented the publication of some of his manuscripts, notably his inaugural lecture in which he presented irrefutable evidence on the existence of plant sexuality. He was the first in France to promote the theory of sexuality of plants.

When he was near death he gave his notes and plates to Boerhaave for publication. In 1727 Boerhaave published Botanicon parisiense, the culmination of thirty-six years of Vaillant's botanical research.

Member: Académie Royal des Sciences, 1716-22.  Among his correspondents were Sherard, Micheli, and Boerhaave. After much negotiation, Vaillant's personal herbarium remained in France at the Jardin du Roi. Vaillant had made arrangements to sell it to Sherard. Louis XIV offered Vaillant's widow 12000 livres for the herbarium to remain on French soil, and she conceded.

Luca Valerio / Luca Valeri *** Not in Gale

(1552-1618).  Italian mathematician.  Catholic.

The Galileo Project, http://galileo.rice.edu/Catalog/NewFiles/valerio.html

Valerio contributed to quadratures. De centro gravitatis, 1604, applied Archimedean methods to the problems of volumes and centers of gravity of solids of revolution. Quadratura parabolae, 1606, was in the same tradition.

J.J. O'Connor and E.F. Robertson.  "Luca Valerio," http://www-gap.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Valerio.html:

Luca Valerio was brought up on the island of Corfu, then he studied at the Collegio Romano. In Rome he was taught mathematics by Clavius. He remained at Collegio Romano after taking his first degree and was awarded a doctorate in philosophy and theology

After taking his doctorate Valerio remained in Rome. At first he taught rhetoric and Greek at the Collegio Greco. On a visit to Pisa in 1590 Valerio met Galileo. After his return to Rome he began teaching rhetoric at the University of Sapienza. Sapienza was the name of the building which the University of Rome occupied at this time and it gave its name to the University. About 1600 Valerio, still at Sapienza, began to teach mathematics.

Valerio's De centro gravitatis, written in 1604, applied methods of Archimedes to find volumes and centres of gravity of solid bodies. He used interesting early ideas of the quotient of limits. Among his other works was Quadratura parabolae (1606).

Antonio Vallisnieri / Antonio Vallisneri *** Not in Gale

(1661-1730).  Italian entomologist, embryologist, natural historian, natural philosopher, physician, geologist.  Catholic.

The Galileo Project, http://galileo.rice.edu/Catalog/NewFiles/valsneri.html:

While practicing in Regio, Vallisnieri collected, dissected, and observed. Especially he was interested in the generation of insects, leading to Sopra la curiosa origine di molti insetti, a work which followed Redi and Malpighi in its rejection of spontaneous generation. He did research as well on human and animal reproduction. In Padua he collected a considerable museum of natural history.

Vallisnieri developed the theory of the chain of being with man, of course, at the pinnacle. He was also an admirer of Democritus, whom he considered the father of true natural philosophy, and along with that an exponent of iatromechanics and of mechanistic ideas of preformation.  As a physician he was convinced that medicine must cease to depend upon philosophy, as in the past, but should look rather to biology. He also studied the etiology of infectious diseases.  His interest in natural history led on to investigations of movements of the earth, the origin of springs, and the origin of alluvial valleys. He also investigated fossils.

Vallisnieri ranged over a very large number of related fields, including anatomy, physiology, microscopy, zoology, botany, mineralogy, and paleontology.

Memberships: Royal Society, Academia Leopoldina, Institute Bologna, Medical College, FRS in 1705.

A member of the Accademia Cesarea Leopoldina de' Curiosi.  A fellow in 1707 of the Istituto delle Scienze of Bologna.  He was a member of the medical colleges of Venice, Padua, and Reggio.

Vallisnieri was a member also of a considerable array of local Italian academies that were not scientific--such as the Accademia de' Fisiocritici of Siena, the Accademia degli Ricovrati of Padua, the Accademia Fiorentina, the Arcadia of Rome, the Accademia di Rosana (I don't know what city), the Arconti d'Italia, and others.

Vallisnieri apparently corresponded with most of the leading scientists (mostly but not entirely life scientists) of his time, including Bellini, Lister, Leibniz, and Marsili. His extended correspondence with Cestoni has been published.

http://www.polybiblio.com/watbooks/1887.html

'Vallisnieri was perhaps the most gifted of the Italian successors to Steno. He thought that the fundamental fact to be accounted for in any theory of the earth was the existence of fossils in solid rock and on mountain tops. He was convinced by his observations of continuous strata running entirely across Italy that the whole country must have once been under water, and for a very long time, Vallisnieri was critical of diluvialists such as Woodward and Scheuchzer who tried the make the Deluge do the work of depositing fossils. In fact, Vallisnieri stated as a general principle that when science and religion are mixed, both invariably suffer' (Theories of the earth , Linda Hall Library, n. 18).

Chelsie Vandaveer.  "Why was eel grass named for a geologist?" http://www.killerplants.com/whats-in-a-name/20030725.asp

Anton Maria Valsalva / Antonio Maria Valsalva

(1666-1723). Italian anatomist. Lecturer in Bologna (from 1705); known for his researches on the ear described in De aure humana tractatus (1704); invented technique known as Valsalva maneuver.

The Galileo Project, http://galileo.rice.edu/Catalog/NewFiles/valsalva.html

Juan de Valverde *** Not in Gale

(c. 1525-c. 1588).  Spanish physician, anatomist, physiologist, educator.  Catholic.

The Galileo Project, http://galileo.rice.edu/Catalog/NewFiles/valverde.html

Author: De animi et corporis sanitate tuenda libellus, 1551; Historia de la composicion del cuerpo humano,1556. There is much contention about this book which is often accused of plagiary from Vesalius, but seems to have rather made advances on what Vesalius accomplished. It was republished far more than Vesalius. Its plates are based on Vesalius' but apparently contain improvements. This work also first stated the lesser circulation.  He was physician to Card Alvarez de Toledo (the Duke of Alba's son); dedicated the Historia to him.  He taught medicine at the Santo Spirito Hospital (at least in 1555).

Janice VanCleave

(Born 1942). Public school science teacher, 1966-91; writer, 1984-present. Leader of science workshops for teachers and students. Bible study instructor.  Janice VanCleave has authored fifty books on science for readers from kindergarten through high school. Her highly popular series-including "Science for Every Kid," "Spectacular Science Fair Projects," "The Best of Janice VanCleave," "A+ Project," and "Play and Find Out"-introduce kids of all ages to the wonders of science through the format of easy-to-do experiments and exercises. Covering topics from chemistry to gravity and from stars to bugs, VanCleave's books are noted for their straightforward approach to information delivery. Her clear explanations, descriptions, and directions are coupled with experiments to create "user-friendly volumes that make science great fun," according to Rosie Peasley in School Library Journal. Education: University of Houston, B.S., 1962; Stephen F. Austin State University, M.S., 1978.

Honors: Phi Delta Kappa Outstanding Teacher Award, 1983; Friend of Education Award, Beta Nu chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma Society International.

Author: non-fiction, Teaching the Fun of Physics: 101 Activities to Make Science Education Easy and Enjoyable, Prentice-Hall, 1985; Janice VanCleave's Guide to the Best Science Projects, Wiley (New York City), 1997; Janice VanCleave's Science Experiment Sourcebook, Wiley, 1997; Janice VanCleave's Science around the Year, Wiley, 2000; Janice VanCleave's Guide to More of the Best Science Fair Projects, Wiley, 2000; Janice VanCleave's Teaching the Fun of Science, Wiley, 2001.

C. Gerald Van Dyke, Ph.D.

Botanist.  Professor of Botany (joint appt. in Plant Path. until 1986, now Associate appt), North Carolina State University Department of Botany, Raleigh, NC, 1969-Present. Research Assistant  and Associate Department of Plant Pathology [lab of Dr. A. L. Hooker, involved  in diseases of corn (Maize)] at the  University of Illinois, 1963-1969.  Used electron microscope to study fungal-host interactions. BS in Education (Included off-campus teaching), Eastern Illinois University l963 - Botany.
MS & Ph.D., University of Illinois l966 & 68 - Plant Pathology

Faculty webpage, Department of Botany, North Carolina State University, http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/botany/faculty/gvandyke/gvandyke.html

Curriculum vitae: http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/botany/faculty/gvandyke/vandykecv.html

Johannes Baptista van Helmont / Jan Baptista van Helmont

The Flemish chemist, physicist and physician Jan Baptista van Helmont (1580-1644) attempted to construct a natural philosophical system based on chemical concepts. He also developed the concept of gas. Because an  experiment represented the first application of quantitative methods to a biological question, van Helmont is sometimes called the father of biochemistry.

The Galileo Project, http://galileo.rice.edu/Catalog/NewFiles/helmont.html

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07212b.htm

http://www.famousbelgians.net/vanhelmont.htm

Biography in Scientists of Faith: 48 Biographies of Historic Scientists and Their Christian Faith, by Dan Graves.  Kregel Resources, Grand Rapids, MI, 1996.  ISBN 0-8254-2724-X.

Hendrik van Heuraet *** Not in Gale

(1633-c. 1660).  Dutch mathematician.

The Galileo Project, http://galileo.rice.edu/Catalog/NewFiles/heuraet.html:

His only published work concerned the rectification of curves, in a letter to Schooten that was published in the second edition of Descartes's Geometria.

Jan van Heurne *** Not in Gale

(1543-1601).  Dutch physician.  Catholic, then Calvinist.

The Galileo Project, http://galileo.rice.edu/Catalog/NewFiles/heurne.html:

In the history of medicine van Heurne is known primarily for his advocacy of bedside teaching, which was rare then and unknown in the Netherlands. It was introduced in Leiden (under his son) half a century later.

Immediately after completing his medical education, he was for two years the personal physician to Francois Perrenot, the nephew (Lindeboom says brother) of Cardinal Granvelle. When Heurne converted to Calvinism, he left to return to the Netherlands.  He practiced medicine in Utrecht from 1573 until 1581, known as one of the most prominent physicians in the Netherlands, whose patients included William and Maurice of Orange.

In 1581 he was appointed professor of medicine at Leiden, a position he held until his death. He was Rector of the university during six separate years between 1583 and 1600.

Antiquariaat FORUM B.V.: "Born in Utrecht Jan van Heurne was taught at the Hieronymus School by Georgius Macropedius and went to study at Louvain and at Paris, where he became interested in surgery, so he proceeded to Italy to study at the famous medical centre Padua. Back home he practiced in Utrecht and became professor in medicine at the new University at Leyden. He was the first to propose bedside teaching for medical students in Northern Europe. The University Board at Leyden however, delayed decision, and bedside teaching was only introduced after the author's death, during the son's, Otto van Heurne's, professorship at Leyden. Heurnius' works were known at the time all over Europe, and were both much translated and republished. His Opera Omnia were published in 1611 and 1615, also edited by Otto van Heurne, in various compositions and editions of the separate works."

Johannes van Horne *** Not in Gale

(1621-1670).  Dutch anatomist, surgeon.  Calvinist.

The Galileo Project, http://galileo.rice.edu/Catalog/NewFiles/horne.html

Although primarily interested in anatomy, Horne later lectured and published on surgery.  He was the first to describe the ductus chyliferus in man.  He prepared a anatomical atlas which was never published.  He investigated the ovaries with Swammerdam.  His introduction to anatomy was translated from its original Latin into Dutch, German, and French.

Michael Florent van Langren *** Not in Gale

(c. 1600-1675).  Dutch astronomer, engineer, cartographer, expert in hydraulics and navigation.  Catholic.

The Galileo Project, http://galileo.rice.edu/Catalog/NewFiles/langren.html

Van Langren's principal endeavor in astronomy was his effort to determine longitude at sea via the moon. His method intended to use the illumination and eclipse (i.e., darkening) of lunar mountains, frequent phenomena like the moons of Jupiter, that could be observed from all points of the earth. This led him to prepare the first lunar map in 1645, titled 'Plenilunii Lumina Austriaca Philippica'.  He ultimately made maps of the full moon and of thirty phases.  He also observed the comet of 1652, and published his observations.

He was an active cartographer, preparing maps of various areas in the Spanish Netherlands.  He was most active as an engineer. He prepared plans for a port near Dunkirk and for improvement of the port of Ostend. He developed a plan to clean the canals of Antwerp, and he devoted extensive effort to means of protecting Brussels from flooding. He also planned canals linking Brussels with other parts of the Spanish Netherlands.

He was also a military engineer, who worked on the fortifications of Brussels, and who devised a three barrel cannon.  (Nearly all of the plans met opposition and almost none were put into effect.)

Apparently he carried on a considerable correspondence with Boulliau.

In the Koninklijke Bibliotheek in Brussels (#19237-8) there is a collection of 233 folios of letters to Langren (though not his replies)--more than half of them the letters of Puteanus published by Moreau.

http://www.nmsi.ac.uk/piclib/imagerecord.asp?id=10418870

Anton van Leeuwenhoek

The Dutch naturalist and microscopist Anton van Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723), using simple microscopes of his own making, discovered bacteria, protozoa, spermatozoa, rotifers, Hydra and Volvox, and also parthenogenesis in aphids. Dutch Reformed.

The Galileo Project, http://galileo.rice.edu/Catalog/NewFiles/leewnhok.html

http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/leeuwenhoek.html

"Anton van Leeuwenhoek," http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Anton%20van%20Leeuwenhoek

The Dutch Royal Academy presents (every 10 years) the Leeuwenhoek medal to the scientist judged to have made the decade's most significant finding in microbiology. This is regarded by microbiologists as the highest honor in their field.

Het Nederlands Kanker Instituut - Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Ziekenhuis, http://www.nki.nl/ (in Dutch)

http://www.cartage.org.lb/en/themes/Biographies/MainBiographies/V/Leeuwenhoek/1.html

Biography in Scientists of Faith: 48 Biographies of Historic Scientists and Their Christian Faith, by Dan Graves.  Kregel Resources, Grand Rapids, MI, 1996.  ISBN 0-8254-2724-X.

Frans van Schooten *** Not in Gale

(c. 1615-1660). Dutch mathematican.  Calvinist.

The Galileo Project, http://galileo.rice.edu/Catalog/NewFiles/schooten.html

Van Schooten was trained in mathematics at Leiden, and he met Descartes there in 1637 and read the proofs of his Geometry.  In Paris he collect manuscripts of the works of Viète, and in Leiden he published Viète's works.  He published the Latin edition of Descartes' Geometry.  The much expanded second edition was extremely influential.  He also made his own contribution (modest, everyone agrees) to mathematics, especially in Exercitationes mathematicae, 1657.

J.J. O'Connor and E.F. Robertson.  "Frans van Schooten," http://www-gap.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Schooten.html

"Schooten | Frans | Van | 1615-1660 | Dutch mathematician," http://www.nahste.ac.uk/pers/s/GB_0237_NAHSTE_P1087/

Van Schooten's Parabola.  http://www15.addr.com/~dscher/schooten.html

Gerhard Van Swieten *** Not in Gale

(1700-1772).  Dutch physician.

From http://hsc.virginia.edu/hs-library/historical/classics/Swieten.html: Like John Huxham, Dutch physician Gerhard Van Swieten was a student of Boerhaave at the University of Leyden. Boerhaave considered Van Swieten his star pupil and invited him to practice medicine in Leyden and assist at the University. Van Swieten popularized Boerhaave's methods in Vienna and helped build the reputation of the medical school. For thirty years, he published and republished his famous Commentaries Upon the Aphorisms of Herman Boerhaave, originally in Latin, then in Dutch, Spanish, French, German, and English. In 1755 van Swieten anticipated modern developments in acupuncture by nearly two centuries when he speculated that acupuncture and moxibustion were neurological phenomena.

Bernhard Varenius / Bernhard Varen *** Not in Gale

(1622-1650).  German geographer, mathematician.  His book, the Geographia generalis (1650),  remained the accepted standard authority for more than a century in Europe  Lutheran.

The Galileo Project, http://galileo.rice.edu/Catalog/NewFiles/varenius.html

Beyond his well-known work in geography, Varenius left behind a manuscript on the conics.

http://58.1911encyclopedia.org/V/VA/VARENIUS_BERNHARDUS.htm

http://www.varenius.nl/ (in Dutch)

Larry Vardiman *** Not in Gale

(Born 1943).  Meteorologist.  U.S. Air Force Faculty/Graduate Student Summer Research Program. Appointment to Air Force Geophysics Laboratory in Boston, Massachusetts Summer 1985. Undergraduate Research Assistant, Cloud Physics Research Center, University of Missouri, Rolla, Missouri 1963-1965; Computer Operator, Computer Center, University of Missouri, Rolla, Missouri, 1964-1965; USAF Officer, Air Weather Service, Aerospace Modification Division Scott Air Force Base, Illinois 1967-1970; Graduate Research Assistant, Department of Atmospheric Science, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 1970-1974; Consulting Meteorologist, Western Scientific Services, Inc., Fort Collins, Colorado 1973-1974; Consultant to the Colorado Governor's Advisory Panel on Weather Modification, 1977; Meteorologist, Bureau of Reclamation, Division of Atmospheric Resources Research, Denver, Colorado 1974-1982.  Dr. Vardiman has a B.S. in Physics from the University of Missouri at Rolla (1965), a B.S. in Meteorology from St. Louis University (1967) and a M.S. (1972) and Ph.D. in Atmospheric Science (1974) from Colorado State University. Dr. Vardiman is a member of the American Meteorological Society.

http://www.icr.org/creationscientists/vardiman.html

Testimony in In Six Days: Why Fifty Scientists Choose to Believe in Creation, edited by John F. Ashton, Ph.D.  Master Books, Inc., Green Forest, AR, 2001.  ISBN 0-89051-341-4.

Pierre Varignon

(1654-1722).  French professor.  Although Pierre Varignon is principally remembered for his contributions to the area of statics, a branch of mechanics that concerns resting objects or forces in equilibrium, he also made advances in calculus. Varignon was one of the first French scholars to realize the value of calculus and, by adapting Leibniz's calculus to the inertial mechanics in Isaac Newton's Principia, helped to develop analytic dynamics. Varignon's other works include a 1699 publication on applying differential calculus to fluid flow and water clocks, while in 1702 he used calculus to investigate spring-driven clocks. Meanwhile, at the end of the century, he had refuted Michel Rolle's objections to the "new" calculus, helping to speed progress in that area.

The Galileo Project, http://galileo.rice.edu/Catalog/NewFiles/varignon.html

J.J. O'Connor and E.F. Robertson. "Pierre Varignon," http://www-gap.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Varignon.html

http://www.sciences-en-ligne.com/momo/chronomath/chrono1/Varignon.html (in French)

Costanzo Varolio

(1543-1575). Italian surgeon and anatomist. Professor, Bologna (1569-72); author of De nervis opticis (1573), in which he described the pons Varolii on undersurface of the brain.  Catholic.

The Galileo Project, http://galileo.rice.edu/Catalog/NewFiles/varolio.html

Sébastien Vauban / Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban

Sebastien Vauban (1633-1707) served as France's foremost military engineer under Louis the XIV. A man of humble birth, Vauban's acumen in planning military fortifications and his direction of sieges against France's enemies helped the regime achieve dominance over much of western Europe during the latter part of the seventeenth century.  Entered regiment of prince de Conde (1651); joined engineer corps (1655); engineer in chief at successful siege of Gravelines (1658); in subsequent wars of Louis XIV gained fame for devising tactics that led to capture of Tournai, Douai, and Lille (1667), Maastricht (1673), Valenciennes (1677),Luxembourg (1684), Philippsburg (1688), Mons (1691), Namur (1692), Charleroi (1693), Ath (1697), Alt-Breisach (1703); designed fortifications for Strasbourg (1681), Landau (1687), Neuf-Brisach (1698-1701); marshal of France (1703). Invented socket bayonet. Author of important treatises on fortification and siegecraft as De l'attaque et de la defense des places (1737).  More than 120 works are attributed to him, 33 of which were new constructions, the remaining works consisting of renewals and enlargements of older fortifications.

The Galileo Project, http://galileo.rice.edu/Catalog/NewFiles/vauban.html:

In 1670 he wrote a treatise on siegecraft. In his mature years he wrote on subjects ranging from colonization and religious toleration to pig farming and privateering. In his dispatches to Louvois he often commented on the resources of various districts, including figures on population and productivity. In 1686 he began collecting statistics in earnest. In 1696 he wrote a geographical treatise of the Vezelay region which was a pioneering study in economics, geography, and sociology. From 1680 to 1707 he wrote three works on taxation including a proposal on the amelioration of the tax burden.

Member: Académie Royal des Sciences 1699-1707, Académicien honoraire.  His friends were Jean Brun, an apothecary, Deschamps, a physician, and Pierre Trichet. He corresponded with Mersenne and Descartes.

http://viking.gmu.edu/http/projects/Vauban/vauban.html

Michael Ray Vaughan

(Born August 11, 1944).  Research wildlife biologist, educator.  Research Associate Wisconsin Coop Wildlife Research Unit, Madison, 1979-80; Assistant leader Virginia Coop Wildlife Research Unit, Blacksburg, Virginia, 1980. Organizer, 1st President Support Group for Gifted Talented Education, Montgomery County, Virginia, 1984-85. Served with USAF, 1962-66.  Education: B.S., North Carolina State University, Raleigh, 1971; M.S., Oregon State University, 1974; Ph.D., University of Wisconsin, 1979.

Member Wildlife Society (organizer Virginia chapter, President 1982-83, Pub. award 1982). Baptist.

Marquis Who's Who, 2004.

Michael R. Vaughan, Professor of Wildlife, Assistant Leader, VA-CFWRU, http://www.fw.vt.edu/fisheries/vaughan.htm

Victor Clarence Vaughan

Dr. Victor Clarence Vaughan played an important role in easing epidemics in military camps during World War I, a war in which more Americans succumbed to disease than to combat injuries.

JAMA: Journal of the American Medical Association, "Victor C. Vaughn," http://jama.ama-Associationorg/cgi/content/extract/283/7/848"

Victor Clarence Vaughan (1851-1929) was best known as the Dean of the University of Michigan Medical School from 1891 to 1920. A biochemist, hygienist, public health authority, medical educator, and administrator, Vaughan was a leading figure in US medicine during the late 19^th century and through the Progressive Era. For example, in 1889 (along with Michigan bacteriologist Frederick Novy), he developed one of the first systematic courses on bacteriology and germ theory for medical students. He was instrumental in the implementation of medical educational reforms years before the landmark Flexner report on medical education of 1910. In the laboratory, Vaughan applied biochemical methods to identifying putrefactive bacteria in food products in order to significantly reduce the incidence of "ptomaine poisoning" in Michigan and beyond.

Harry Sewall.  "Victor Clarence Vaughan."Dictionary of American Biography Base Set. American Council of Learned Societies, 1928-1936:  [Vaughan] published several … books and upwards of two hundred articles, carried on private practice for many years, became a medico-legal expert in toxicology with a national reputation, and was the founder of Physician and Surgeon (1879), of which he was managing editor for sometime, and the Journal of Laboratory and Clinical Medicine (1915). He was president of the American Medical Association (1914-15) and of the American Tuberculosis Association (1920), and a member of numerous scientific and other learned societies in the United States and abroad. In 1921-22 and 1925-26 he was chairman of the division of medical sciences of the National Research Council. Throughout the World War he served in the office of the surgeon-general and on the executive committee of the general medical board of the Council of National Defense, rising to the rank of colonel. He later received a Distinguished Service Medal for his work in epidemiology and was made knight of the Legion of Honor by the French government.

A Doctor's Memories: An Autobiography by Victor Clarence Vaughan, 1926, The Bobbs-Merrill Company, Indianapolis. A Colophon by Warren Taylor Vaughan, III. http://www.vaughan.org/bios/vcv/

Edward Bright Vedder

Physician.  Army officer.  Edward Bright Vedder made invaluable contributions to early twentieth century medicine. He discovered the causes of beriberi and scurvy; both are diseases stemming from vitamin deficiencies. He also contributed to knowledge about leprosy, syphilis, and amoebic dysentery.

"Papers of Edward Bright Vedder," Edward G. Miner Library, University of Rochester Medical Center,

http://www.urmc.rochester.edu/hslt/miner/rare_books/archives/Non_Faculty/vedder.cfm

"Edward Bright Vedder (1878-1952) was a career military physician, noted researcher on deficiency diseases, and medical educator. His most important contribution to medical science was his research and publications on beriberi as a deficiency disease affecting the peripheral nerves. The Papers of Edward Bright Vedder span the period 1902-1943. They were donated to the Edward G. Miner Library in 1997 by Martha Vedder Cullinane, the widow of Edward Bright Vedder's son, Henry C. Vedder, who followed in his father's footsteps as a military physician. The Vedder papers were processed in July 2000. They are contained in eight document boxes occupying 3.5 linear feet.

Edward Bright Vedder was born in New York City to Henry Clay Vedder, a Baptist clergyman, and Minnie Lingham Vedder. He received his Ph.B. from the University of Rochester in 1898, and his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1902. Continuing his studies at Penn, Vedder received an M.S. in 1903 while doing research with Simon Flexner on dysentery. Soon afterward, he was commissioned an officer in the U.S. Army Medical Corps, and continued his studies at the Army Medical School in Washington, D.C. Following graduation in 1904, Vedder served in the Philippines, where he studied and observed tropical diseases. His work on beriberi and scurvy was of particular importance. Vedder discovered that beriberi is a deficiency disease; and his research on scurvy helped lead the way for others to the discovery that ascorbic acid is a vitamin. In 1913 Vedder published Beriberi, his best known monograph. That same year he returned to the United States where he was appointed Assistant Professor of pathology at the Army Medical School. In 1919 he became director of the Southern Department Laboratory at Fort Sam Houston, Texas; and from 1922 to 1925 was chief of medical research at the Edgewood Arsenal (Md). During this period Vedder conducted research on chemical warfare that resulted in publication of The medical aspects of chemical warfare in 1925. Vedder returned to Manila in 1925 as senior member of the Army Board for Medical Research. He returned to Washington in 1929, and in the following year assumed command of the Army Medical School. Vedder retired from the Army in 1933 to become professor of experimental medicine at George Washington University. In 1942 he was appointed director of medical education at the Alameda County Hospital (California) and laboratory director of the Highland County Hospital (Oakland), posts that he retained until his retirement in 1947."

Author: Beriberi (1913), Sanitation for Medical Officers, War Manual(1917), Syphilis and Public Health (1918), The Medical Aspects of Chemical Warfare (1925), and Medicine: Its Contribution to Civilization (1929), as well as many articles which appeared in respected scientific journals of the time. In 1924 he received an honorary Sc.D. degree from the University of Rochester.

Henry Clay Vedder

(1853-1935).  Journalist, Church Historian, Northern Baptist Convention.  He attended the University of Rochester, which granted him a B.A. degree in 1873, and spent the next three years at Rochester Theological Seminary. Following graduation from the seminary, he joined the editorial staff of a Baptist newspaper, the Examiner, published in New York. He stayed with the paper until 1894, during which time he authored his first book, A Short History of the Baptists. Also during these years he decided to prepare himself for a career as a church historian. In 1894 he was offered and accepted the chair in church history at Crozer Theological Seminary.

Author: A History of the Baptists in the Middle States (1898); The Baptists (1903); Balthasar Huebmaier, the Leader of the Anabaptists (1905); Our New Testament-How Did We Get It (1908); Christian Epoch Makers (1908); Socialism and the Ethics of Jesus (1912); The Gospel of Jesus and the Problems of Democracy (1914); and The Reformation in Germany (1914). The succession of titles of his books also reveals a growing interest in social history as opposed to purely denominational chronicling. This interest is in line with the influx of sociology into the theological curriculum and increased attention by church leaders to social issues (the so-called social gospel).

R. E. E. Harkness. "Henry Clay Vedder."Dictionary of American Biography, Supplements 1-2: To 1940. American Council of Learned Societies, 1944-1958.

His son was Dr. Edward Bright Vedder.

Henry Clay Vedder, III / Clay Vedder

"EDUCATIONAL TRADITION PASSED THROUGH FOUR GENERATIONS ,"

http://www.rochester.edu/pr/News/NewsReleases/general/clayrel.html. May 1, 1998.

"You have to wonder about 'friendly ghosts' at commencement when Henry Clay Vedder III graduates from the University of Rochester. Not only is the biology major the fourth generation in his family to attend the school, but he's graduating exactly 100 years after his grandfather did.

Two years ago Clay, as he's called, left Georgia Southern University to pursue his studies in biology and science. The University of Rochester beckoned with the strength of its programs as well as his family's "own choices in education for more than a century.

Henry Clay Vedder I earned his undergraduate degree at Rochester before pursuing doctoral studies in theology and church history. His son, Edward Bright Vedder, graduated from the University in 1898 and went on to become a renowned medical researcher. Edward's son, Henry Clay Vedder II, studied in Rochester, then completed his medical studies at George Washington University. And now Clay, who's from Leesburg, Virginia, has continued the family tradition in education."

Walter J. Veith *** Not in Gale, Zoology

Zoologist.  Chemist.  Ecophysiologist.  Dr. Veith is currently Professor and chair of the Zoology Department, University of the Western Cape. He has a B.Sc. (hons) cum laude from the University of Stellenbosch with major subjects Zoology and Chemistry, a B.Sc.and M.Sc. in Zoology from the University of Stellenbosch and a Ph.D. in Zoology from the University of Cape Town.

Author of The Genesis Conflict: Putting the Pieces Together and Diet and Health, (in which latest insights including his own research are presented).

http://www.amazingdiscoveries.org/walter.html

Curriculum vitae: http://www.icr.org/creationscientists/veith.html

http://www.christiananswers.net/creation/people/veith-w.html

http://www.wordsight.org/links/sci/001_cre-intro.htm

Professor Veith is one of only 5 scientists in South Africa honored with the Royal Society London Grant for (RDP) the Reconstruction and Development Program to establish a research climate in post-apartheid South Africa.

Carl Wieland and Jonathan Sarfati.  "Professing creation: A distinguished zoologist 'tells it like it is' about evolution," http://www.answersingenesis.org/creation/v22/i1/professing_creation.asp.  First published: Creation 22(1):36-38, December 1999

"I was an evolutionist, and an atheist. I started to get interested in the subject of Biblical prophecy-for example, prophecies in the book of Daniel, chapter two. They were written long before the events portrayed there, and the kingdoms came in succession just as it says. And the Dead Sea Scrolls seemed to confirm the authenticity and antiquity of the Book of Daniel. So I started to get interested in the rest of Scripture, including Genesis."

Testimony in In Six Days: Why Fifty Scientists Choose to Believe in Creation, edited by John F. Ashton, Ph.D.  Master Books, Inc., Green Forest, AR, 2001.  ISBN 0-89051-341-4.

John Venn

John Venn (1834 -1923) is most famous for his development of diagrams, later named after him, that depict relationships between sets. Although Gottfried Wilhelm von Liebniz and Leonhard Euler had used similar diagrams, Venn's were considered more descriptive and easier to understand. He also helped to develop George Boole's system of mathematical logic.

John Venn, The Logic of Chance: An Essay on the Foundations and Province of the Theory of Probability, With Especial Reference to its Logical Bearings and its Application to Moral and Social Science (second edition; London: Macmillan and Co., 1876)

Also

http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/history/Mathematicians/Venn.html

Faustus Verantius / Vrancic / Faust *** Not in Gale

(1551-1617).  Croatian-born engineer, hydraulics expert, mathematician, inventor.  Catholic.

The Galileo Project, http://galileo.rice.edu/Catalog/NewFiles/verantus.html

Verantius's Machinae novae (1616) is a book of mechanical and technological inventions. Some of his inventions are applicable to the solutions of hydrological problems, and others concern the construction of clepsydras, sundials, mills, presses, and bridges and boats for widely different uses. Althogh some of his 'machines' were not wholly original or independent inventions, many of them were explained for the first time in print in Machinae novae.

In 1595 he published a five language dictionary (Latin- Italian-German-Croatian-Hungarian). He was also the author of Logica nova and Ethica christiana (1616).  Some of his inventions are applicable to the solution of hydrological problems, for example, the project to keep the Tiber from overflowing its banks at Rome and that of providing Venice with fresh water. Others concern the construction of clepsydras, sundials, mills, presses, and bridges and boats destined for widely different uses.  His designs for a wind turbine, a funicular railway, and a bridge suspended by iron chains represent an advance over contemporary techniques.  He did build bridges and mills in Vienna.

Ferdinand Verbiest, S.J.

(1623-1688). Flemish missionary and astronomer. Entered Jesuit order (1641); to China, where he succeeded Adam Schall von Bell as head of imperial astronomical bureau, Peking (1669); instrumental in determining boundary between China and Russia.

http://www.faculty.fairfield.edu/jmac/sj/scientists/verbiest.htm

Pierre Vernier

(c.1580-1637). French mathematician. Held various government posts; invented (1631) Vernier caliper, or Vernier scale, for making accurate measurements of linear magnitudes, described in his Construction, l'usage, et les proprietez du quadrant nouveau de mathematiques (1631).

The Galileo Project, http://galileo.rice.edu/Catalog/NewFiles/vernier.html

J.J. O'Connor and E.F. Robertson. "Pierre Vernier," http://www-gap.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Vernier.html

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15359a.htm

http://www.cosmovisions.com/Vernier.htm

Andreas Vesalius

(1514-1564).  Belgian anatomist and physician, the first to dissect the human body and the founder of modern anatomy. His major work, De humani corporis fabrica(1543), is a milestone in scientific progress, which repudiated Galenic tradition. In Fabrica he wrote, "By not first explaining the bones, anatomists ... deter [the student] from a worthy examination of the works of God."  The dissections (then illegal) enabled him to discover that Galen's system of medicine was based on fundamental anatomical errors. He disproved that men had a rib less than women - a belief that had been widely held until then.  He also believed, contrary to Aristotle's theory of the heart being the centre of the mind and emotion, that the brain and the nervous system are the centre.  Between 1539 and 1542 Vesalius prepared his masterpiece, a book that employed talented artists to provide the anatomical illustrations.Vesalius's De humani corporis fabrica/On the Structure of the Human Body 1543, together with the main work of astronomer Copernicus, published in the same year, marked the dawn of modern science. He was made physician to Emperor Charles V (1543) and a count (1556); and later became physician to Philip II in Madrid (1559). On his way back from a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, Vesalius died in a shipwreck off Greece.

The Galileo Project, http://galileo.rice.edu/Catalog/NewFiles/vesalius.html

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15378c.htm

http://www.cartage.org.lb/en/themes/Biographies/MainBiographies/V/Vesalius/1.html

http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/biography/Vesalius.html

http://www.fact-index.com/v/ve/vesalius.html

http://special.lib.gla.ac.uk/anatomy/vesalius.html

http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Andreas%20Vesalius

http://www.famousbelgians.net/vesalius.htm

Johann Vesling / Veslingius *** Not in Gale

(1598-1649).  German-born anatomist, physician, botanist, embryologist, pharmacologist.  Catholic.

The Galileo Project, http://galileo.rice.edu/Catalog/NewFiles/vesling.html

Vesling published Syntagma anatomicum, 1641, an extremely popular text that went through many editions and many translations. It includes a number of original observations, including some on the lacteals and lymphatics.

In Egypt Vesling studied the flora and later published De plantis aegyptiis, 1638. In 1638 he ceased to lecture on surgery at Padua and turned wholly to botany. In the final years of his life he renovated the botanical garden in Padua. As the botanical garden in Padua implies, his study of plants, from the beginning in Egypt, include their pharmacological uses.  In Egypt Vesling also studied the development of the chicken in artificially hatched eggs. His connection with the botanical garden entailed pharmacology, and already in Egypt his initial study was of medicinal plants.

http://www.polybiblio.com/watbooks/1553.html:

Raymond Vieussens

(c. 1635-1715).  French physician, surgeon.  Vieussens advanced the understanding of the anatomy and physiology of the brain, heart, nervous system, and circulatory system. Many anatomical features in these systems are named after him, such as Vieussens' centrum (the white oval core of each hemisphere of the brain); Vieussens' valve (a sheet of thin white tissue in the brain); Vieussens' ventricle (one of the fluid-filled spaces in the brain); Vieussens' ansa (a loop in the ganglia around the subclavian artery); Vieussens' ganglion (a network of nerves between the aorta and the stomach); Vieussens' anulus, isthmus, or limbus (a ring of muscle in the right atrium of the heart); Vieussens' foramina (tiny openings in the veins of the right atrium of the heart); and Vieussens' veins (small veins on the surface of the heart).

"Raymond Vieussens." World of Anatomy and Physiology. 2 vols. Gale Group, 2002.
The Galileo Project, http://galileo.rice.edu/Catalog/NewFiles/vieussen.html

Raymond Vieussens.  "Coronary Anatomy,"  http://www.asecho.org/Scientific_Sessions/Coronary%20Anatomy.ppt

John Francis Vigani *** Not in Gale

(c. 1650-1713).  Italian-born chemist, pharmacologist, instrument-maker.  Catholic, then Anglican.

The Galileo Project, http://galileo.rice.edu/Catalog/NewFiles/vigani.html

He was a practical working chemist and pharmacist with little or no interest in theory. His aim was to teach the preparation of useful chemical compounds and pharmacological prescriptions. His one published work, Medulla chemiae, Danzig, 1682 (republished in London, 1683), was a set of instructions to produced certain chemicals and medicines. He devised a method to purify sulfate of iron from copper, and one for making ammonium sulfate. He was free of alchemical inclinations.

Intimate friendship with Newton. He was one of the few visitors to Newton's rooms in Trinity.  Friendship with John Covell.  Reared a Catholic, and apparently conformed to Anglicanism later.

Juan Bautista Villalpando, S.J. *** Not in Gale

(1552-1608).   That he was more than a theorist is evident from the fact that at the age of 27 while still an unordained Jesuit scholastic, he was in charge of constructing three major Jesuit buildings, one of which still stands, the church of the Jesuit college in Seville. He designed the first oval church ever built in Spain. In the history of architecture he is most renowned, however, for his famous work, the design and reconstruction of the temple of Solomon.

http://www.faculty.fairfield.edu/jmac/sj/scientists/villalpando.htm

Gregorius Saint-Vincent / Gregory of Saint-Vincent, S.J. *** Not in Gale

 (1584-1667). Saint-Vincent's main work is a book over 1250 pages long. There are many topics covered in the book including a study of circles, triangles, geometric series, ellipses, parabolas and hyperbolas. His book also contains his quadrature method which is related to that of Cavalieri but which he discovered independently. He gives a method of squaring the circle which we can now see is essentially integration. Saint-Vincent integrated x-1 in a geometric form that is easily recognised as the logarithmic function.

J J O'Connor and E F Robertson.  http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/history/Mathematicians/Saint-Vincent.html or

http://www-gap.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Saint-Vincent.html

http://galileo.rice.edu/Catalog/NewNewFiles/saintvct.html

http://www.faculty.fairfield.edu/jmac/sj/scientists/vincent.htm

Lloyd Drexell Vincent

(1924-1994).  Nuclear physicist. University president.  President, Angelo State University, San Angelo, Texas, 1967; Assistant to President, Sam Houston State University, 1965-67; Professor, Director physics dept., Sam Houston State University, 1960-65; research scientist, Texas Nuclear Corp., Austin, 1959-60; Danforth Foundation Teacher study grantee, NSF Science faculty Fellow., University of Texas, 1958-59; instructor, Texas A&M University, 1955-56; Associate Professor, University of Southwestern Louisiana, 1956-58; Assistant Professor, University of Southwestern Louisiana, 1953-55. Co-owner, Manager ACME Glass Corp., Baytown, Texas, 1947-49; physics consultant Columbia University Teachers College, U.S. AID, India, summer 1966; member formula Advisory committee Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, 1975; chair Board of Directors Texas International Education Consortium, Inc., 1989-92; Board of Directors West Texas Utilities Co., 1978; vice Chairman Council President of Public Senior. Colleges and Univs. Texas, 1980-81; Chairman Council President of Lone Star Athletic Conference, 1981-82, 86-87, 93-94; member President commn. NCAA, 1987-91. Board visitors Air University, Maxwell AFB, Alabama, 1981-86; member Advisory committee USAF ROTC, 1989-93, Chairman, 1991-93. 2d Lieutenant USAAF, 1942-45.  Student, Rice University, 1946-47, 49-50; B.S., University of Texas, Austin, 1952; M.A., University of Texas, Austin, 1953; Ph.D., University of Texas, Austin, 1960; postdoctoral, Harvard University, summer 1987.

Member: Fellow Texas Academy of Science; American Physics Society, American Association State Colleges and Univs. (State rep. 1972-74, mission of university President and chancellors to Malaysia, 1986), American Association Physics Teachers (sect. Chairman 1965-67, National Deligate to USSR and China 1983), Association Texas Colleges and Schools (commn. on colleges 1985), Rotary, Sigma Xi, Sigma Pi Sigma.

Honors: Recipient Meritorious Civilian Service award USAF, 1993; named Citizen of Year, San Angelo Chamber of Commerce, 1975.

Marquis Who's Who, 2004.

Lloyd D. and Johnell S. Vincent Nursing Physical Science Building, http://www.angelo.edu/dept/physics/nps.htm

Vincent of Beauvais

Vincent of Beauvais (ca. 1190-ca. 1264) was a Dominican cleric who took it upon himself to compile the Speculum majus, an encyclopedia of all human knowledge up to the time of Louis IX of France. An industrious man with strong organizational skills, Vincent spent more than two decades researching and writing this work, which covers the areas of nature, education and history.

Webpage: http://www.cs.uu.nl/groups/IK/archives/vb_home.htm

Bibliography: http://www.cs.uu.nl/groups/IK/archives/vincent/bibhome.htm

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15439a.htm

http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Vincent%20of%20Beauvais

http://5.1911encyclopedia.org/V/VI/VINCENT_OF_BEAUVAIS.htm

Vincenzio Viviani  *** Not in Gale

(1622-1703).  Italian mathematician, hydraulics specialist, mechanic, optician, physicist, astronomer, engineer, architect.  Catholic. Lunar Crater Viviani was named in his honor.

The Galileo Project, http://galileo.rice.edu/Catalog/NewFiles/viviani.html

Viviani was first of all a student of ancient geometry who, though a leading mathematician, never came to terms with the new analyis. He attempted to restore the fifth book of Euclid's Elements, and to reconstruct the contents of the lost fifth book of Apollonius' Conics, and Aristaeus' De locis solidis. He prepared an Italian version of Archimedes' work on the rectification and squaring of the circle, and he published an Italian translation of the whole of Euclid's Elements.

As an engineer with the Uffiziali dei Fiumi in Florence, he published Discorso intorno al difendersi da' riempimenti e dalle corrosione de' fiumi (1687), completed a work on the nature of fluids (which he did not publish), and left numerous manuscripts on theoretical and practical hydraulics. Two of his compositions were included in the Raccolta del moto dell'acque of the 18th century.  Working as the disciple of Galileo, Viviani nearly completed a work on the resistance of solids, which Grandi did complete and publish after Viviani's death. Viviani left quite a few manuscripts on mechanics.

In the Accademia del Cimento he worked on the compression of air and on optics, and he was responsible for the Accademia's astronomical observations. He also observed some with Cassini.

In the 40's Viviani was sent to inspect the fortifications of Tuscany and to build up those along a threatened frontier.  He was employed by the Grand Duke as an engineer with the Uffiziali dei Fiumi and worked on numerous projects including the channeling of the Chiana. He also worked on roads, pavements, and a bridge, and he did some architectural work. For the Accademia del Cimento he invented numerous instruments--to examine the compression of air, the specific gravity of fluids, the refraction of fluids, and capillary phenomena, as well as an air thermometer, a hygrometer, a hearing trumpet, and a telescope twenty palms long.

Member: Accademia del Cimento; Royal Society, 1696; Académie Royal des Sciences.  Membership in the Accademia del Cimento from its beginning in 1657.  One of the eight foreign members upon the reorganization of the Académie Royale des Sciences in 1699.  Viviani was also in the Arcadia in Rome and in the Accademia della Crusca from 1661.  He was Galileo's companion and pupil during the final two years of his life. He became a close friend of Torricelli and is the one who first performed the Torricellian experiment (the barometer), at Torricelli's instructions; Viviani undertook to publish Torricelli's works after his death but did not carry through.  He was a close friend of Redi and Steno.  He corresponded with Ricci, Sluse, degli Angeli, Huygens, Wallis, Leibniz, l'Hopital, the two Bernoullis, Grandi, and others.  The affair over the publication of Apollonius led to a rupture with Borelli that was never healed.

J.J. O'Connor and E.F. Robertson. Vincenzo Viviani http://www-gap.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Viviani.html

Rudolf Ludwig Carl Virchow

The German medical scientist, anthropologist, and politician Rudolf Ludwig Carl Virchow (1821-1902) was the founder of the school of "cellular pathology," which forms the basis of modern pathology.

http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/information/biography/uvwxyz/virchow_rudolf.html

http://www.whonamedit.com/doctor.cfm/912.html

http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Rudolf%20Virchow

Adriaan Vlacq / Vlack / Vlaccus

(1600-1666 or 1667). Dutch mathematician. Published (1628) tables of common logarithms between 20,000 and 90,000, filling a gap left by previous tables, and (1633) tables of trigonometric functions and their logs.

The Galileo Project, http://galileo.rice.edu/Catalog/NewFiles/vlacq.html

J.J. O'Connor and E.F. Robertson. "Adriaan Vlacq," http://www-gap.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Vlacq.html

Barbu-Vladimir Vladescu

(Born December 27, 1943 in Timisoara, Romania).  Microbiologist.  Chief dept., Pernod-Ricard Research Center., Creteil, France, 1982; biologist, Fundeni Clinical Hospital, Bucharest, 1979-82; Assistant Lecturer, Bucharest Medical School, 1972-79; researcher, Institute of Biology, Romanian Academy, 1966-72.  Education: MS, University Bucharest, Romania, 1966; Ph.D., Romanian Academy, 1974.

Member: AAAS, French Society Microbiology (Board of Directors biotechnical section 1992).  Orthodox Christian.

Honor:  Recipient Vermeil medal French Academy of Agriculture, 1991.

Contributor of articles to professional journals.; patentee in field.

Marquis Who's Who, 2004.

Alessandro Volta / Alessandro Giuseppe Antonio Anastasio Volta

The Italian physicist Alessandro Volta (1745-1827) invented the electric battery, or "voltaic pile," thus providing for the first time a sustained source of current electricity.  At age fourteen, Volta decided to become a physicist after reading The History and Present State of Electricity by Joseph Priestley (1733-1804).  Professor, Pavia (1779-1804); invented the electrophorus (1775) and the voltaic pile (1800); did research on the composition of marsh gas and isolated methane (1778); studied atmospheric electricity. Made count and senator of kingdom of Lombardy by Napoleon (1801); director of philosophical faculty at Padua (from 1815). Volta extended his physics work to include the electrical interactions of living organisms, and the electrical phenomena associated with various physiological processes. The volt, an electrical unit, is named in his honor.

Honor: Copley Medal, Royal Society of London, 1794.

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15503a.htm

Bern Dibner.  "ALESSANDRO VOLTA AND THE ELECTRIC BATTERY," http://dibinst.mit.edu/BURNDY/OnlinePubs/Volta/index.html

"Università  deglistudi di pavia, Dipartimento di fiscal A. Volta," http://ppp.unipv.it/Volta/ (in Italian and English)

http://www.astrocosmo.cl/biografi/b-a_volta.htm (in Italian)

http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/biography/Volta.html

http://www.italian-american.com/volta.htm

http://1.1911encyclopedia.org/V/VO/VOLTA_ALESSANDRO.htm

Karl Ernest Ritter von Baer

(1792-1876).  An Estonian embryologist famous for his discovery of the mammalian ovum (1827), notochord, etc.; elucidated principle of epigenesist, and who made a significant contribution to the systematic study of the development of animals.

 Professor, Konigsberg (1817-34); with Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg (from 1834). Pioneer of descriptive and comparative embryology; showed that the various organs of vertebrates are derived from germ layers by differentiation.  In Russia a naturalist, geologist, ethnologist, esp. in far North. In 1837, he led a scientific expedition to Novaya Zemlya in Arctic Russia, and from 1851-6, studied the fisheries of lake Peipus and the Baltic and Caspian Seas. He served as inspector of fisheries for the empire from 1851-1852. He founded the St. Petersburg Society for Geography and Ethnography and the German Anthropological Society. Author of Uber Entwicklungsgeschichte der Thiere (On the Development of Animals), 1828-1837, Untersuchungen uber die Entwicklung der Fische (1835), etc. For his work, Von Baer was awarded the Copley Medal of the Royal Society in 1876.

Home page: http://www.zbi.ee/baer/

Erki Tammiksaar. http://www.zbi.ee/baer/biography.htm

http://www.whonamedit.com/doctor.cfm/379.html

http://37.1911encyclopedia.org/B/BA/BAER_KARL_ERNST_VON.htm

http://concise.britannica.com/ebc/article?eu=381653&query=horse&ct=

http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Karl%20Ernst%20Baer

Wernher von Braun

The German-born American space scientist Wernher von Braun (1912-1977), the "father of space travel," developed the first practical space rockets and launch vehicles.

http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/Academy/History/vonBraun/vonBraun.html

http://history.msfc.nasa.gov/vonbraun/index.html

http://www.redstone.army.mil/history/vonbraun/bio.html

http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Wernher%20von%20Braun

http://www.creationsafaris.com/wgcs_4.htm#vonbraun

"For me, the idea of a creation is not conceivable without invoking the necessity of design. One cannot be exposed to the law and order of the universe without concluding that there must be design and purpose behind it all."    Letter to the California State board of Education, September 14, 1972.

"My experiences with science led me to God. They challenge science to prove the existence of God. But must we really light a candle to see the sun?"  Letter to the California State board of Education,  September 14, 1972.

"It is in scientific honesty that I endorse the presentation of alternative theories for the origin of the universe, life and man in the science classroom. It would be an error to overlook the possibility that the universe was planned rather than happening by chance."  Letter to the California State board of Education,  September 14, 1972

From http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:Umcm0e_qiGkJ:bevets.com/equotest.htm+%22W.R.Thompson%22+Ottawa&hl=en

Dr. Wernher von Braun.  "Intelligent Design," http://www.creationequation.com/vonBraun.htm

On September 14, 1972, this letter addressed to a Mr. Grose and attributed to rocket scientist Wernher von Braun was read to the California State Board of Education by Dr. John Ford; later cited in Jesus Christ Creator by Kelly Seagraves, 1973; printed in Applied Christianity, then quoted in the Bible Science Newsletter, May, 1974, p. 8. The complete text of the von Braun letter, from which the above excerpts were drawn, was made available through the courtesy of Dennis R. Petersen, author of Unlocking the Mysteries of Creation (Creation Resource Foundation: El Dorado, California, 1990) p. 63.

"Werher Von Braun in His Own Words," http://www.creationsafaris.com/wgcs_4vonbraun.htm

Dietrich von Freiberg *** Not in Gale

(ca.1250- c.1310).  Optical research in rainbows.

Biography in German: http://www.bautz.de/bbkl/d/dietrich_v_f.shtml

Abhandlung über den Intellekt und den Erkenntnisinhalt, http://www.meiner.de/PhB/Dietrich.htm

Biography in Scientists of Faith: 48 Biographies of Historic Scientists and Their Christian Faith, by Dan Graves.  Kregel Resources, Grand Rapids, MI, 1996.  ISBN 0-8254-2724-X.

Otto von Guericke / Gericke

(1602-1686).  German physicist, astronomer.  While he studied mathematics, law, and engineering, Guericke would become famous for his experiments with a vacuum and air pressure. Engineer in army (1631-35); mayor of Magdeburg (1646-81). Invented vacuum air pump (1650); devised Magdeburg hemispheres to illustrate pressure of the air (1657); devised (1663) first electrical generating machine, a ball of sulfur on a crank-turned shaft,the friction of the hand held against the turning ball generating static electricity; discovered (1672) electroluminescence.

The Galileo Project, http://galileo.rice.edu/Catalog/NewFiles/guericke.html

Albrecht von Haller

The Swiss biologist and physician Albrecht von Haller (1708-1777) conducted experiments in organic sensibility and irritability that are landmarks in the development of physiology. He wrote scholarly articles at the age of eight and by the age of ten, he had completed a Greek dictionary.   Professor of medicine, anatomy, and surgery, Gottingen (1736-53); practiced medicine, Bern (1753-77); elucidated mechanism of respiration; discovered function of bile; first to distinguish and relate muscle irritability and nerve sensibility and show transmission of nervous impulse; contributed to anatomy, embryology; devised botanical taxonomic system. Author of Elementa Physiologiae Corporis Humani (1757-66) and other scientific works; compiled Bibliothecae Medicinae Practicae (1776-88); also wrote philosophical romances as Usong (1771), Alfred (1773), Fabius and Cato (1774).

http://70.1911encyclopedia.org/H/HA/HALLER_ALBRECHT_VON.htm

Albrecht-von-Haller-Institut für Pflanzenwissenschaften der Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, http://wwwuser.gwdg.de/~botanik/avhi.htm (in German)

John H. Lienhard.  Engines of Our Ingenuity-No. 658: ALBRECHT VON HALLER, Click here for audio of Episode 658. Webpage: http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi658.htm

Biography in Doctors Who Followed Christ: Thirty-Two Biographies of Eminent Physicians and Their Christian Faith, by Dan Graves.  Kregel Resources, Grand Rapids, MI, 1999.  ISBN 0-8254-2734-7.

Ewald Georg von Kleist

(c.1700-1748).  German ecclesiastic and scientist. Dean of cathedral of Kamin, Pomerania. Discovered (1745) principle of the Leyden jar, later described more fully by Pieter van Musschenbroek.

http://www.acmi.net.au/AIC/VON_KLEIST_BIO.html

Biography in Scientists of Faith: 48 Biographies of Historic Scientists and Their Christian Faith, by Dan Graves.  Kregel Resources, Grand Rapids, MI, 1996.  ISBN 0-8254-2724-X.

Johann Von Lamont

(1805-1879). German astronomer, b. Scotland. On staff (1827-35), director (1835-79), Royal Observatory, Bogenhausen; Professor, University of Munich (1852-79). Provided orbital data on satellites of Saturn and Uranus; determined mass of Uranus; cataloged over 34,000 stars; discovered fluctuation of Earth's magnetic field (1850) and existence of Earth currents (1862). Chief publication Handbuch des Erdmagnetismus (1849).

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08766b.htm

http://16.1911encyclopedia.org/L/LA/LAMONT_JOHANN_VON.htm

Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz

Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz (1646-1716) was a German mathematician and philosopher. Known as a statesman to the general public of his own times and as a mathematician to his scholarly contemporaries, he was subsequently thought of primarily as a philosopher.

http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/history/Mathematicians/Leibniz.html or

http://www-gap.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Leibniz.html

http://www.maths.tcd.ie/pub/HistMath/People/Leibniz/RouseBall/RB_Leibnitz.html

http://mally.stanford.edu/leibniz.html

http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Gottfried%20Wilhelm%20von%20Leibniz

http://www.metaweb.com/wiki/wiki.phtml?title=Gottfried_Wilhelm_von_Leibniz

Johannes von Muralt *** Not in Gale

(1645-1733).  Swiss physician, anatomist, surgeon, physiologist, zoologist.  Calvinist.

The Galileo Project, http://galileo.rice.edu/Catalog/NewFiles/muralt.html:

Von Mutalt practiced medicine quite successfully, applying the knowledge he learned from anatomical dissections. He developed new surgical procedures and set them forth systematically in his writings. He is also responsible for founding anatomical teaching in Zürich.

Member: Academia Leopoldina.  1681, member of the Academia Caesario-Leopoldina Natura Curiosorum, with the name "Aretaeus."

Charles H. Voss / Charles Henry Voss, Jr., Ph.D. *** Not in Gale

(Born 1926).   Professor Emeritus of Electrical & Computer Engineering, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA. Vice-President of the pro-creationist Origins Research Association.

http://www.ee.lsu.edu/voss/index.html

Origins Research Association.  http://www.originsresource.org/welcome.htm