2012.01.06: January 6, 2012: Nepal Project Director Thomas Acker president of Sigma Xi, an international organization of research scientists and engineers

Peace Corps Online: Directory: Nepal: Peace Corps Nepal : Peace Corps Nepal: New Stories: 2012.01.06: January 6, 2012: Nepal Project Director Thomas Acker president of Sigma Xi, an international organization of research scientists and engineers

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Nepal Project Director Thomas Acker president of Sigma Xi, an international organization of research scientists and engineers

Nepal Project Director Thomas Acker president of Sigma Xi, an international organization of research scientists and engineers

Acker, 82, who earned a doctorate in biology from Stanford University, said religion and science are not mutually exclusive. "There's a basic concept that the world was created by God, and people feel that science is therefore opposed to God," he said. But the goal of science, Acker said, is not to refute that the world was made by God, but rather seeks to learn "how he made it." "There's this feeling that science and religion are opposites, but I don't feel that opposition at all. The world is still evolving. It's still developing, which is how God made it." Acker stressed that as president, he will not inject religion into Sigma Xi. "My job is to restore the organization," he said, noting that 250 of its U.S. chapters are inactive. "We must give our members more value," he stated. Acker said the chief purpose of Sigma Xi is to help researchers. "We're companions in zealous research, in service," he said. "Working together for the betterment of the planet." Acker was a project director for the U.S. Peace Corps in Nepal, where he was a Fulbright professor at Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu.

Nepal Project Director Thomas Acker president of Sigma Xi, an international organization of research scientists and engineers

Sts. Philip & James leader named head of Sigma Xi

By Charita Goshay
CantonRep.com staff writer

Posted Jan 06, 2012 @ 07:00 AM

Caption: The Rev. Thomas S. Acker of Saints Philip & James Catholic Church in Canal Fulton was named president of Sigma Xi. He will begin his service in July. Photo: CantonRep.com / Michael S. Balash

CANAL FULTON -

Like Gregor Mendel, the monk who discovered genetics, the Rev. Thomas Acker is not only a man of the cloth, but also one of science.

The administrator of Sts. Philip & James Catholic Church at 412 High St. has been elected president of Sigma Xi, an international organization of research scientists and engineers.

Founded in 1887, Sigma Xi boasts 50,000 members, including 200 Nobel Peace Prize winners.

Acker, 82, who earned a doctorate in biology from Stanford University, said religion and science are not mutually exclusive.

"There's a basic concept that the world was created by God, and people feel that science is therefore opposed to God," he said.

But the goal of science, Acker said, is not to refute that the world was made by God, but rather seeks to learn "how he made it."

"There's this feeling that science and religion are opposites, but I don't feel that opposition at all. The world is still evolving. It's still developing, which is how God made it."

Acker stressed that as president, he will not inject religion into Sigma Xi.

"My job is to restore the organization," he said, noting that 250 of its U.S. chapters are inactive.

"We must give our members more value," he stated.

Acker said the chief purpose of Sigma Xi is to help researchers.

"We're companions in zealous research, in service," he said. "Working together for the betterment of the planet."

GOD'S NATURE

He points to the late Norman Borlaug, a Nobel Prize winner and father of the green energy movement, as a model for the course he hopes to set as president.

"My job is to find a niche for it," he said of Sigma Xi.

Acker, who got his start in science as a young bird watcher, said biology showcases God's nature.

"It shows the complexity of God and his beauty, he said. "I see the beauty in him. He's like a rock, always there, but warm. I find that science is a good avenue towards God, not a stumbling block."

Acker graduated from Loyola University in 1952 and from Stanford in 1961. He was ordained a Jesuit priest in 1963. He has taught biology at a number of colleges and universities, including John Carroll University, the University of San Francisco and the University of Detroit. He also was dean of arts and sciences at St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia, and dean of the Future Generations Graduate School, and president of Wheeling Jesuit University, where he was granted emeritus status in 2000.

Acker also was a project director for the U.S. Peace Corps in Nepal, where he was a Fulbright professor at Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu.

Just prior to Sts. Philip & James, Acker was CEO of Forward Southern West Virginia, and chairman and CEO of the Higher Education Foundation in Beckley. While there, he became close friends with the late Sen. Robert Byrd, and country music singer Charlie Pride.

Acker came to the Youngstown Diocese in September to serve as an assistant to the bishop for special projects. He was assigned to Sts. Philip & James in November.

A VISIONARY

Bishop George V. Murry, who recently visited St. Philip & James, lauded Acker's election and describes him as a man of great vision and energy.

"He's a Jesuit, and I'm a Jesuit, so we share a history and tradition," Murry said.

Murry said Acker was instrumental in the development of Wheeling Jesuit.

"He's beginning his eighth career or something like that," Murry laughed. "He's energetic and sincere. He's a person of vision; he thinks in very clear terms, he thinks out into the future. It's delightful having him around. He leaves a lot of us out of breath."

Acker said more must be done to encourage America's youth to embrace science. He urges teachers to "go away from the ordinary."

"It's not just bringing dead animals into the class to dissect, but (the study of) live material," he said. "I used to take my students to the ponds and the docks. If you deal with only dead stuff, that's not life."

Acker said the ability of researchers to understand genetics and to decode DNA is one of the greatest discoveries of the past century.

"We now understand there's a genetic blueprint," he said. "I think it's the greatest advancement since Mendel."

Acker said he doesn't see a conflict between the theory of evolution and the biblical account of the creation.

"That God would start something and let it evolve is acceptable," he said, "I totally, 100 percent believe that evolution is one of the major forces used by God. He sets the seeds, and the seeds keep growing. God lets things develop."




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