Nationality American Died June 15, 2011 Known for Work on origin of life Fields Chemistry | Name Robert Shapiro Role Chemist | |
Born November 28, 1935
New York City, United States ( 1935-11-28 ) Institutions University of Cambridge, New York University Alma mater City College of New York (BS), Harvard University (PhD) Notable awards Trotter Prize (2004) with Paul Davies Books Origins: A Skeptic's Guide to the Creation of Life on Earth, Planetary Dreams: The Quest to Discover Life Beyond Earth Education Harvard University, City College of New York | ||
Doctoral advisor Robert Burns Woodward | ||
Robert shapiro ph d air date 09 18 08
Robert Shapiro (28 November 1935 – 15 June 2011) was professor emeritus of chemistry at New York University. He is best known for his work on the origin of life, having written two books on the topic: Origins, a Skeptic’s Guide to the Creation of Life on Earth (1986) and Planetary Dreams (1999). He opposed the RNA world hypothesis, and held that the spontaneous emergence of a molecule as complicated as RNA is highly unlikely. Instead, he proposed that life arose from some self-sustaining and compartmentalized reaction of simple molecules: "metabolism first" instead of "RNA first". This reaction would have to be able to reproduce and evolve, eventually leading to RNA. He claimed that in this view life is a normal consequence of the laws of nature and potentially quite common in the universe.
Contents
- Robert shapiro ph d air date 09 18 08
- Robert shapiro ph d original air date march 1986
- Works
- References