Jerry Coyne
Jerry Allen Coyne (born December 30, 1949) is an American biologist and skeptic known for his work on speciation and his commentary on intelligent design. A professor emeritus at the University of Chicago in the Department of Ecology and Evolution, he has published numerous papers on the theory of evolution. His concentration is speciation and ecological and evolutionary genetics, particularly as they involve the fruit fly, Drosophila. In 2023 he became a fellow with the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry.
Jerry A. Coyne | |
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Coyne in 2013 | |
| Born | Jerry Allen Coyne December 30, 1949 |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | College of William & Mary (BS) Harvard University (PhD) |
| Known for | Speciation and evolutionary genetics, particularly as they involve the fruit fly, Drosophila, and the books:
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| Awards | Richard Dawkins Award (2015) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Ecology Evolution |
| Institutions | University of Chicago University of Maryland |
| Doctoral advisor | Richard Lewontin |
| Notable students | H. Allen Orr, Mohamed Noor |
| Website | whyevolutionistrue |
He is the author of the text Speciation and the bestselling non-fiction book Why Evolution Is True. Coyne maintains a website and writes for his blog, also called Why Evolution Is True. He is a hard determinist.
Coyne gained attention outside of the scientific community as a public critic of religion. As a proponent of New Atheism, he is often cited with atheists such as Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris. He is the author of the book Faith Versus Fact.