Kenneth Piers, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus
Email: pier@calvin.edu
Office: DeVries Hall 337
Phone: (616) 526-6491
Fax: (616) 526-6501
Education
- B.S.C., (Hon), University of Alberta, Edmonton, 1963
- Ph.D., University of Alberta, Edmonton, 1966
Thesis: Synthetic Studies on Lycopodium Alkaloids
Advisor: Professor William Ayer
Professional History
- Calvin College, Emeritus
- Calvin College, Professor of Chemistry, 1968-present
- 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 103 & 103L: General Chemistry I & General Chemistry I Laboratory
- Chem 104 & 104L: General Chemistry II & General Chemistry II Laboratory
- Chem 261 & 261L: Organic Chemistry I & Organic Chemistry I Laboratory
- Chem 262 & 262L: Organic Chemistry II & Organic Chemistry II Laboratory
- Chem 325: Advanced Organic Chemistry
- Interim: Energy: Resources, Use, and Stewardship
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
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.
