Kenneth Raymond Miller (born July 14, 1948) is an American

cell biologist Cell biology (also cellular biology or cytology) is a branch of biology that studies the structure, function, and behavior of cells. All living organisms are made of cells. A cell is the basic unit of life that is responsible for the living and ...

molecular biologist Molecular biology is the branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecular basis of biological activity in and between cells, including biomolecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interactions. The study of chemical and physic ...

, and former biology professor. Miller's primary research focus is the structure and function of

cell membrane The cell membrane (also known as the plasma membrane (PM) or cytoplasmic membrane, and historically referred to as the plasmalemma) is a biological membrane that separates and protects the interior of all cells from the outside environment (t ...

s, especially

chloroplast A chloroplast () is a type of membrane-bound organelle known as a plastid that conducts photosynthesis mostly in plant and algal cells. The photosynthetic pigment chlorophyll captures the energy from sunlight, converts it, and stores it i ...

thylakoid membranes. Miller is a co-author of a major introductory college and high school biology textbook published by

Prentice Hall Prentice Hall was an American major educational publisher owned by Savvas Learning Company. Prentice Hall publishes print and digital content for the 6–12 and higher-education market, and distributes its technical titles through the Safari ...

since 1990. Miller, who is

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

, is opposed to

creationism Creationism is the religious belief that nature, and aspects such as the universe, Earth, life, and humans, originated with supernatural acts of divine creation. Gunn 2004, p. 9, "The ''Concise Oxford Dictionary'' says that creationism is 't ...

, including the

intelligent design Intelligent design (ID) is a pseudoscientific argument for the existence of God, presented by its proponents as "an evidence-based scientific theory about life's origins". Numbers 2006, p. 373; " Dcaptured headlines for its bold attempt to ...

(ID) movement. He has written three books on the subject: '' Finding Darwin's God'', '' Only a Theory'', and ''The Human Instinct''. Miller has received the

Laetare Medal The Laetare Medal is an annual award given by the University of Notre Dame in recognition of outstanding service to the Catholic Church and society. The award is given to an American Catholic or group of Catholics "whose genius has ennobled the a ...

at the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main c ...

. In 2017, he received the inaugural St. Albert Award from the Society of Catholic Scientists.

Biography

Miller graduated from Rahway High School in

Rahway, New Jersey Rahway () is a city in southern Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. A bedroom community of New York City, it is centrally located in the Rahway Valley region, in the New York metropolitan area. The city is southwest of Manhattan ...

, and then received his Sc.B. in biology in 1970 from

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

. He earned his Ph.D. in biology from the

University of Colorado at Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado sy ...

in 1974. From 1974 to 1980, he taught at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...

Research

His research involves problems of structure and function in

biological membrane A biological membrane, biomembrane or cell membrane is a selectively permeable membrane that separates the interior of a cell from the external environment or creates intracellular compartments by serving as a boundary between one part of the ...

s, especially

thylakoid membranes, often involving

electron microscopy An electron microscope is a microscope that uses a beam of accelerated electrons as a source of illumination. As the wavelength of an electron can be up to 100,000 times shorter than that of visible light photons, electron microscopes have a hi ...

Science advocacy

Miller has voiced his support for what he calls "pro-science" candidates in politics. He has campaigned for school board and education candidates who support the teaching of

evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...

in Kansas and Ohio. In the science community, he has sought to elevate the understanding of scientists of the roots of the creationist movement, and to encourage the popularization of scientific concepts. Miller has appeared in court as a witness, and on panels debating the teaching of intelligent design in schools. In 2002, the

Ohio State Board of Education Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

held a public debate between two scientists, including Miller, and two proponents of intelligent design. He testified for the plaintiffs, but only as a fact witness (not as an expert), in ''

Selman v. Cobb County ''Selman v. Cobb County School District'', 449 F.3d 1320 (11th Cir. 2006), was a United States court case in Cobb County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia involving a sticker placed in public school biology textbooks. The sticker was a disclaimer st ...

'', testing the legality of stickers calling evolution a "theory, not a fact" that were placed on the biology textbook Miller authored. In 2005, the judge ruled that the stickers violated the

Establishment Clause of the First Amendment In United States law, the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, together with that Amendment's Free Exercise Clause, form the constitutional right of freedom of religion. The relevant constitutional text ...

to the

United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven articles, it delineates the natio ...

. This decision was vacated on appeal because of missing records of the previous trial. The case was remanded for additional evidentiary inquiry and new findings, and a list of factual issues that the court would probably want to address included as item 15 a reference to Miller's testimony regarding "the colloquial or popular understanding of the term heory and the suggested question as to whether he has any qualifications to testify as an expert on the popular meaning of the word "theory". The case was remanded back to the lower court and was eventually settled out of court. Miller was also the plaintiff's lead expert witness in the 2004-2005 ''

Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District ''Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District'', 400 F. Supp. 2d 707 (M.D. Pa. 2005) was the first direct challenge brought in the United States federal courts testing a public school district policy that required the teaching of intelligent design ...

'' case, challenging the school board's mandate to incorporate intelligent design into the curriculum. The judge in that case also ruled decisively in favor of the plaintiffs. He spoke at the

Skeptics Society The Skeptics Society is a nonprofit, member-supported organization devoted to promoting scientific skepticism and resisting the spread of pseudoscience, superstition, and irrational beliefs. The Skeptics Society was co-founded by Michael S ...

's Origins Conference in October 2008, and at the

Veritas Forum The Veritas Forum is a non-profit organization which works with Christian students on college campuses to host forums centered on the exploration of truth and its relevancy in human life, through the questions of philosophy, religion, science, an ...

on topics such as the

relationship between science and religion The relationship between religion and science involves discussions that interconnect the study of the natural world, history, philosophy, and theology. Even though the ancient and medieval worlds did not have conceptions resembling the modern u ...

and the

existence of God The existence of God (or more generally, the existence of deities) is a subject of debate in theology, philosophy of religion and popular culture. A wide variety of arguments for and against the existence of God or deities can be categorize ...

. Miller has appeared on the Comedy Central television show ''

The Colbert Report ''The Colbert Report'' ( ) is an American late-night talk and news satire television program hosted by Stephen Colbert that aired four days a week on Comedy Central from October 17, 2005, to December 18, 2014, for 1,447 episodes. The show fo ...

,'' and has made many appearances on

C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American cable and satellite television network that was created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a nonprofit public service. It televises many proceedings of the United States ...

debating proponents of creationism and intelligent design. He has debated several supporters of intelligent design including biochemist Michael J. Behe. He gave a

Faraday Institute The Faraday Institute for Science and Religion is an interdisciplinary academic research institute based in Cambridge, England. It is named after the 19th-century English scientist Michael Faraday, the pioneer of electromagnetic induction. It w ...

lecture in April 2009 on "God, Darwin and Design" and appeared on the ''

Today Programme ''Today'', colloquially known as ''the Today programme'', is a long-running British morning news and current-affairs Radio program, radio programme on BBC Radio 4. Broadcast on Monday to Saturday from 6:00 am to 9:00 am, it is produced by BBC N ...

'' arguing, "The issue of God is an issue on which reasonable people may differ, but I certainly think that it's an over-statement of our scientific knowledge and understanding to argue that science in general, or evolutionary biology in particular, proves in any way that there is no God."

Publications

General books

* '' Finding Darwin's God: A Scientist's Search for Common Ground Between God and Evolution'' (2000, Cliff Street Books ) which argues that acceptance of

is compatible with a belief in

God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

. * '' Only a Theory : Evolution and the Battle for America's Soul'' , (2008, Penguin Group, ) which explores Intelligent Design and the ''

'' case along with its implications on teaching science in America * '' The Human Instinct: How We Evolved to Have Reason, Consciousness, and Free Will'' (

Simon and Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest pub ...

. 2018 ) which explores how humans evolved to develop

reason Reason is the capacity of consciously applying logic by drawing conclusions from new or existing information, with the aim of seeking the truth. It is closely associated with such characteristically human activities as philosophy, science, lang ...

consciousness Consciousness, at its simplest, is sentience and awareness of internal and external existence. However, the lack of definitions has led to millennia of analyses, explanations and debates by philosophers, theologians, linguisticians, and scien ...

, and

free will Free will is the capacity of agents to choose between different possible courses of action unimpeded. Free will is closely linked to the concepts of moral responsibility, praise, culpability, sin, and other judgements which apply only to ac ...

. it was described by David DiSalvo as "an optimist's argument for a refreshed view of human evolution"

Textbooks

Miller is the co-author (with

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classified ...

neurobiologist and marine biologist Joseph Levine) of a major introductory college and high school biology textbook published by

since 1990. The current edition was published in 2010 by Savvas (which now owns Prentice Hall). Initially, Prentice Hall approached Joseph Levine to write the textbook after reading an article he wrote in Smithsonian magazine; Levine, who is a former student of Miller's, then recruited Miller as a co-author. Miller and Levine have also co-written a college-level textbook published by the former

D.C. Heath and Company D.C. Heath and Company was an American publishing company located at 125 Spring Street in Lexington, Massachusetts, specializing in textbooks. History The company was founded in Boston by Edwin Ginn and Daniel Collamore Heath in 1885.D.C Heath ...

, first edition in 1991, entitled ''Biology: Discovering Life''. * Miller, K.R. (2018) '' The Human Instinct: How We Evolved to Have Reason, Consciousness, and Free Will'' * Miller, K.R. (2008) '' Only a Theory: Evolution and the Battle for America's Soul'' * Miller, K.R. (1999) '' Finding Darwin's God: A Scientist's Search for Common Ground Between God and Evolution'' * Miller, K.R. and Levine, J. (2002) ''Biology: The Living Science'' (various editions of high school textbook)

Honors

2006 Public Service Award from the

American Society for Cell Biology The American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) is a professional society that was founded in 1960.Dwight H. Terry Lectureship at

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the w ...

, delivering his lecture "Darwin, God, and Dover: What the Collapse of 'Intelligent Design' Means for Science and for Faith in America." 2008

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...

(AAAS) Award for Public Understanding of Science and Technology. 2010 Elected as a Fellow of the

Committee for Skeptical Inquiry The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI), formerly known as the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP), is a program within the US non-profit organization Center for Inquiry (CFI), which seeks to "pro ...

. May 2014,

at the

. 2017, inaugural St. Albert Award from the Society of Catholic Scientists. Since 2016, Miller has been listed on the Board of Directors of the

National Center for Science Education The National Center for Science Education (NCSE) is a not-for-profit membership organization in the United States whose stated mission is to educate the press and the public on the scientific and educational aspects of controversies surrounding ...

. In 2017 he became the president.

References

External links

Faculty homepage

Talks

"Teaching Evolution" Debate
on ''

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

'', 19 November 2004
Firing Line Creation-Evolution Debate
4 December 1997

at

, 14 September 2006
BAM: The Evolution of Ken Miller
November/December 2005
Interview with Ken Miller
26 January 2007
Debate
with

PZ Myers Paul Zachary Myers (born March 9, 1957) is an American biologist who founded and writes the ''Pharyngula'' science-blog. He is associate professor of biology at the University of Minnesota Morris (UMM)

, 10 May 2007 * at

Case Western University Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a private research university in Cleveland, Ohio. Case Western Reserve was established in 1967, when Western Reserve University, founded in 1826 and named for its location in the Connecticut Western Rese ...

* *
Interview on the American Freethought PodcastKen Miller's Short Talk: "Evolution-Why it Matters"Ken Miller's Short Talk: "Defending Evolution"

Dr. Kenneth Raymond Miller: Professor of Biology, Brown University Interview, part One)
and
part Two
{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Kenneth R. 1948 births 21st-century American biologists 21st-century Roman Catholics American science writers Brown University alumni Brown University faculty Evolutionary biologists Harvard University faculty Living people People from Rahway, New Jersey Rahway High School alumni Science teachers University of Colorado alumni American skeptics Theistic evolutionists Critics of creationism Catholics from New Jersey Writers about religion and science