AAAS Dialogue on Science, Ethics, and Religion

Biography

Bernard Wood is the Henry R. Luce Professor of Human Origins & Director of the Center for the Advanced Study of Hominid Paleobiology at George Washington University. He is also Adjunct Senior Scientist at the National Museum of Natural History. He held Chairs at The University of London and The University of Liverpool, where he also served as Dean of the Medical School. Dr. Wood practiced as a surgeon before moving into academic life. When still a medical student he joined Richard Leakey's first expedition and has pursued research in paleoanthropology ever since. His research centers on increasing our understanding of human evolutionary history by developing and improving the ways we analyze the hominid fossil record. He collaborates with researchers interested in the evolution of non-hominids to ensure analysis in a comparative context. He is the author, or co-author of eight books, 142 refereed article or book chapters, and 117 delivered papers or posters. He has authored 53 commentaries, encyclopedia entries, etc., and 93 book reviews. He just published a ‘Very Short Introduction to Human Evolution’, a non-technical work.