Joseph A. Schwarcz - Biography

Joseph A. Schwarcz, known to his students, and many via his science popularization efforts as Dr. Joe, has a PhD in chemistry and is a professor at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec. He is the director of McGill's Office for Science & Society, which is dedicated to demystifying science for the public. He 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. Schwarcz is the winner of the American Chemical Society's James T. Grady-James H. Stack Award for Interpreting Chemistry for interpreting chemistry to the public. In 1992, he was the co-winner of the Royal Society of Canada's McNeil Medal, awarded for the public awareness of science.

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.

Selected bibliography

Dr. Joe's Brain Sparks: 179 Inspiring and Enlightening Inquiries into the Science of Everyday Life (2010, ISBN 978-0385669306)
Science, Sense & Nonsense (2009, ISBN 978-0385666046)
Brain Fuel: 199 Mind-Expanding Inquiries into the Science of Everyday Life (2008, ISBN 978-0385666022)
An Apple A Day: The Myths, Misconceptions and Truths About the Foods We Eat (2007, ISBN 978-0-00-200764-1)
Let Them Eat Flax: 70 All-New Commentaries on the Science of Everyday Food & Life (2005, ISBN 1-55022-698-3)
The Fly in the Ointment: 70 Fascinating Commentaries on the Science of Everyday Life (2004, ISBN 1-55022-621-5)
That's the Way the Cookie Crumbles: 62 All-New Commentaries on the Fascinating Chemistry of Everyday Life (2004, ISBN 1-55022-520-0)
The Genie in the Bottle: 68 All New Commentaries on the Fascinating Chemistry of Everyday Life (2001, ISBN 1-55022-442-5)
Radar, Hula Hoops, and Playful Pigs: 67 Digestible Commentaries on the Fascinating Chemistry of Everyday Life (2001, ISBN 0-8050-7407-4)
Hungary: where salami is a vegetable." (2000, ISBN 1-55025-698-3)