Office: 335 DeVries Hall
Phone: (616)526-6491
Fax: (616)526-6501
Email: pier@calvin.edu

Recent Publications

• An initial response to the British documentary “The Great Global Warming Swindle” (doc)
  By Dr. Kenneth Piers, Professor of Chemistry
  Published March 22, 2007
  
  
• Report on Denis Hayes' Lecture: "Our Energy Future" (doc)
  By Dr. Kenneth Piers, Professor of Chemistry
  Published March 27, 2007
  

Education:

• B.Sc. (Hon), University of Alberta, Edmonton, 1963
• Ph.D., University of Alberta, Edmonton, 1966
  • Thesis: Synthetic Studies on Lycopodium Alkaloids
  • Advisor: Prof. William Ayer

Professional History:

• Calvin College, 1968-present, Professor of Chemistry
• National Research Council of Canada Overseas Postdoctoral Fellowship, 1967, Postdoctoral Fellow
  • Advisor: Prof. Albert Eschenmoser
• University of Western Ontario Teaching Postdoctoral Fellowship, 1968
  • Advisor: Prof. James King

Courses:

• Chem 261: Organic Chemistry (Fall)
• Chem 325: Advanced Organic Chemistry (Spring)
• IDIS 160: Energy: Resources, Use and Stewardship (Fall)
• Physics 112: Physical Science for Elementary Education (Spring)

Scholarly Interests:
My interests currently focus around the issues of worldviews, energy resources, and sustainability. In particular I am interested in exploring questions related to how ones worldview comes to expression in attitudes and behaviors toward the natural environment. I am also intensively exploring issues related to energy use and modern civilization. I am especially interested in questions related to depletion of fossil fuel resources, principally crude oil and natural gas, and what implications this reality has for the sustainability of modern culture. I am also interested in exploring ways in which questions related to physical and ecological sustainability can be more systematically addressed in the college curriculum.