Guillermo Gonzalez is an astrophysicist and assistant research professor in astronomy at Iowa State University and a fellow with the International Society for Complexity, Information, and Design. In his latest book The Privileged Planet: How Our Place in the Cosmos Is Designed for Discovery, co-authored by Jay W. Richards, Gonzalez argues that our planet is exquisitely fit not only to support life, but also gives us the best view of the universe, as if Earth - and the universe itself - were designed both for life and for scientific discovery.

Gonzalez received his Ph.D. in Astronomy in 1993 from the University of Washington and has done post-doctoral work at the University of Texas, Austin and at the University of Washington. Guillermo Gonzalez has received fellowships, grants and awards from such institutions as NASA, the University of Washington, Sigma Xi (scientific research society) and the National Science Foundation.

Dr. Gonzalez is primarily interested in studying the late stages of stellar evolution through the use of spectroscopic observations. Recent work includes spectroscopic abundance analysis of post-AGB supergiants and RV Tau variables. He has also undertaken a study of the parent stars of the recently discovered extra-solar planetary systems. The results indicate that these stars have anomalous chemical abundances, suggesting some sort of unusual formation history.

Guillermo Gonzalez has also published over sixty articles in professional astronomy and astrophysical journals including Astronomy and Astrophysics, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Astrophysical Journal and Solar Physics. His current research interest in astrobiology focuses on the "Galactic Habitable Zone" which was the featured cover story in the October 2001 issue of Scientific American.

Books

The Privileged Planet: How Our Place in the Cosmos Is Designed for Discovery
by Guillermo Gonzalez and Jay Richards

Links

Guillermo Gonzalez Home Page

Guillermo Gonzalez