Biography
Schwarcz earned a Ph.D. at McGill in 1973. He is known through his many books, weekly column in the Montreal Gazette, weekly radio show on CJAD 800 in Montreal and CFRB 1010 in Toronto, and frequent segments on the Discovery Channel Canada. He has also had a show on Discovery Canada in the past (Science to Go). Schwarcz has consulted for a number of Fortune 500 companies, including Monsanto.
Dr. Joe is of Hungarian birth. He is well known for his informative and entertaining public lectures on topics ranging from household chemicals to the chemistry of love. Dr. Joe formerly taught at Vanier College, and there established a series of courses designed to bring chemistry to the common student, and later to the general public through public lectures. This was then replicated at McGill University. Dr. Joe is an amateur magician and often describes how "supernatural feats" can be done by ordinary means, with a scientific explanation to boot. Uri Geller, the mentalist, is a common target for debunking.
Dr. Schwarcz was nominated by McGill University as one of the USA Science and Engineering Festival's Nifty Fifty Speakers. He spoke about his work and career to middle and high school students in October 2010, and will do so again in the 2011-2012 school year.
In November 2011, Lorne Trottier gave $5.5 million to McGill to fund Schwarcz's efforts to educate the public about quackery and to "battle against charlatans." It is believed to be the largest single gift for science promotion in Canada.
Read more about this topic: Joseph A. Schwarcz
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